Biotech Business Week articles from January 2004

Biotech Business Week archives from January 2004

U.K. company to work with U.S. Naval Medical Research Center on oral anthrax vaccine.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.K.-based biotechnology company Microscience has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC). The collaboration will...

Surfactant developed for in-solution enzymatic digestion of proteins.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have developed an enzyme-friendly, mass spectrometry-compatible surfactant for in-solution enzymatic digestion of proteins. "Improved in-solution tryptic digestion of proteins in terms...

Non-small cell lung cancer drug market to exceed $4.1 billion in 2012.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Decision Resources, Inc., forecasts that the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug market will exceed $4.1 billion in 2012. According to the new Pharmacor study entitled "Non-Small-Cell Lung...

NIH begins human Ebola vaccine trial using Biojector 2000.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc., (BJCT), a developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, announced that the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious...

Clinical trials begin for Procleix Ultrio assay.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) and Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) announced that clinical trials of the Procleix Ultrio Assay, for the simultaneous detection of HIV-1, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B...

New flu test for physician offices launched.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Meridian Bioscience, Inc., (VIVO) announced it has begun marketing a new physician's office influenza A&B test. According to Meridian, this rapid test is simple enough to be performed in...

Promising clinical data on Actimid presented at ASH.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Celgene Corporation (CELG) announced that data evaluating clinical results on Actimid (CC-4047) as a therapeutic approach for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma was presented at the...

Preferred specialty distributor chosen for AMD treatment.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Priority Healthcare Corporation (PHCC) has signed an agreement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NVS) to be a preferred specialty distributor and the preferred specialty pharmacy provider of...

Significant reduction in heavy drinking seen in phase III trial Of Vivitrex.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alkermes, Inc., (ALKS) announced preliminary results from its phase III study of Vivitrex (naltrexone for injectable suspension) in a total of 624 male and female patients with alcohol dependence. ...

Experimental allergic rhinitis treatment achieves positive safety data.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (RIGL) announced positive clinical safety data for R112, an experimental drug to treat allergic rhinitis, indicating that R112 is well tolerated and demonstrates a favorable...

Pregnancy achieved from frozen donor egg at New Jersey institute.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A woman previously unable to sustain pregnancy now looks forward to giving birth next summer after taking part in a pilot study using an advanced donor egg cryopreservation (freezing) at Diamond...

Geriatrics disease firm secures license for discovery of cardiovascular treatments.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chronogen, Inc., announced that it has secured an exclusive worldwide license from McGill University for screening assays for targets and drugs useful in the treatment and prevention of lipid disorder...

Chinese biotech to apply for listing on primary U.S. stock exchange.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., announced that it would apply for a full listing on one of the primary U.S. stock exchanges over the next few weeks. The company anticipates it will apply to...

Nanotech-based hydrogel launched.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 3DM, Inc., introduced its PuraMatrix line of synthetic peptide hydrogels at the 43rd annual conference of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) in San Francisco. Their line of biomaterials...

National Blood Service in England begins nucleic acid testing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that the National Blood Service in England has begun nucleic acid testing (NAT) at its Brentwood site with the company's Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay. The assay is...

Data from Theratope Vaccine trial presented.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biomira, Inc., (BIOM, BRA) and Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, announced that data from the final analysis of their Theratope Vaccine phase III clinical trial in women with metastatic breast cancer...

Positive Abraxane phase III data released.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc., (APPX) (APP) and ABRAXIS Oncology, the proprietary drug division of APP, announced positive results of the randomized, controlled phase III clinical trial in...

Positive data reported on phase II breast tumor cell proliferation study.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ascend Therapeutics, Inc., announced that it presented data from a phase II dose-escalating study comparing the antiproliferative effect of the company's percutaneous TamoGel (4-Hydroxytamoxifen gel) to...

Post-tamoxifen use of Femara reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence by 43%.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Extended adjuvant treatment with Femara (letrozole tablets) in a group of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer who had completed 5 years of therapy with tamoxifen cut the risk of recurrence of...

Study data indicate promise for investigational compound GW572016.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from an early phase, multicenter clinical trial suggest that GW572016, a reversible inhibitor of two growth factor receptors involved in the proliferation and survival of many solid tumors in a...

Company reports on phase II meeting with FDA on Oravescent Fentanyl.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cima Labs, Inc., (CIMA) announced that it held its end of phase II meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the company's proprietary OraVescent Fentanyl transmucosal dosage...

Novacea licenses anticancer product candidate.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novacea, Inc., and KuDOS Pharmaceuticals announced that Novacea has licensed from KuDOS the North American rights to develop and commercialize AQ4N, a hypoxic, cell-activated agent with broad potential...

Hemostasis device launched.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Datascope Corp. (DSCP) announced the worldwide launch of Safeguard, an innovative, inflatable pressure-dressing designed to maintain hemostasis after manual compression for arterial catheterization...

Eighty-one percent of surveyed women want noninvasive cervical cancer test over Pap test.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Eighty-one percent of women tested with SpectRx's (SPRX) non-invasive cervical cancer detection prototypes wanted the test to be used as a replacement for the invasive Pap test, according to a study...

Additional patent issued for Tocosol Paclitaxel cancer drug.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (SNUS) announced that an additional United States patent has been issued for Tocosol Paclitaxel, expanding claims directed to the composition of Tocosol Paclitaxel and also...

Phase II study of Acclaim initiated.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Angiogenix, Inc., announced the initiation of a phase II clinical trial of its lead product candidate, Acclaim, for the treatment of chronic angina, the chest pain that occurs from inadequate blood flow...

Anti-inflammatory cytokine technology licensed.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avigen, Inc., (AVGN) announced that it has exclusively licensed rights to the treatment of chronic pain using anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 10 (IL-10), from the University of...

Clinical trial initiated for Visilizumab in severe ulcerative colitis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Protein Design Labs, Inc., (PDL) has recently initiated a phase I/II clinical trial of visilizumab (Nuvion) in patients with severe ulcerative colitis whose disease has not responded to treatment with...

Agreement signed to acquire noncancer assets from Cadherin.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adherex Technologies, Inc., (AHX) announced that it has signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire noncancer related cadherin-based intellectual property from Cadherin Biomedical, Inc. (CBI). The...

Alliance formed to develop an automated test to monitor transplant drug.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Abbott Laboratories announced a collaboration and license agreement with Wyeth to develop an automated blood test to monitor therapeutic levels of the anti-rejection drug Rapamune (sirolimus). ...

Alliance to advance whole transcript analysis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Affymetrix, Inc., (AFFX) and Nugen Technologies, Inc., a privately held company developing and commercializing products for high sensitivity nucleic acid amplification and detection, announced that they...

Deal signed for generic oral contraceptive products.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Andrx Corporation (ADRX) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., (TEVA) jointly announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop and market generic oral contraceptive...

Deal signed for solid-tumor cancer treatment development.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVN) announced that a commercial license agreement with Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (PPHM) has been executed for an antibody Avanir produced for a cancer target in...

Genaissance enters pharmacogenomics agreement.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (GNSC) has entered into an agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals, A/S, under which Genaissance will provide certain pharmacogenomic services and technology to...

Global reach expanded with formation of two marketing partnerships.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Barrier Therapeutics, Inc., announced that it has established agreements with Alliance Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., and Neopharm, Ltd., for the marketing, sales, and distribution of Barrier's initial...

Multiyear contract awarded for IV solutions, sets to veterans hospitals.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Baxter Healthcare Corporation announced that it has been awarded a multiyear contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the exclusive sale of its intravenous solutions and sets to the more than...

President to finalize Sucanon marketing agreement for Mexico.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Robert Rieveley, the president of Biotech Holdings, reported that he will meet with marketing companies in Mexico to conclude an agreement regarding marketing the company's diabetes drug, Sucanon. ...

Wellbutrin XL global marketing status updated.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biovail Corporation (BVF) confirmed that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option pursuant to the agreement between Biovail and GSK with respect to Wellbutrin XL (a once daily version of bupropion...

Dendritic cell vaccine to be used in trial for new cancer treatment.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., (ASTM) announced the initiation of a phase I clinical trial in collaboration with investigators at Duke University Medical Center (Duke). The clinical trial will evaluate...

Phase II clinical trials of KOS-862 initiated.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated (KOSN) announced the start of multicenter phase II clinical trials within the Kosan and Roche partnership to evaluate the efficacy of KOS-862 (Epothilone D) as a...

Study projects colorectal cancer drug sales to reach $2.1B in 2012.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Decision Resources, Inc., forecasts that the colorectal cancer (CRC) drug market will be driven by the introduction of Sanofi-Synthelabo's Eloxatin in the United States, and the use of Pfizer's...

FDA 510k clearance granted for fluid removal system.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CHF Solutions, a private medical device manufacturer, has received 510(k) marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of central venous access with its System 100...

FDA grants clearance to NT-proBNP for prognosis of congestive heart failure.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In November 2002, Roche Diagnostics gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance on its Elecsys proBNP immunoassay, the first fully automated test used for detecting the level of the...

Coalition established to raise awareness of deep-vein thrombosis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Public health leaders have formed the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis, in a united effort to raise awareness among consumers, healthcare professionals, and policy-makers about deep-vein...

Gloves help improve skin, relieve dermatitis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cardinal Health (CAH) has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market an advanced new line of medical gloves made with Neu-Thera, an emollient that is proven clinically to...

User fee not required for Extina new drug application.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Connetics Corporation (CNCT) received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that no user fee is required for the new drug application (NDA) seeking marketing clearance for Extina...

Positive phase III results reported with Metformin GR.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Depomed, Inc., (DMI) and Biovail Corporation (BVF) announced positive top line results from the second pivotal phase III clinical trial of Metformin GR, a once daily, extended release formulation of the...

Gen-Probe inks cross-licensing agreement for nucleic acid testing technologies.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Tosoh have cross-licensed intellectual property covering certain nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies. The licenses, which are effective January 1, 2004, cover products in...

Early research advances field of proteasome biology.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (MLNM) and collaborators released findings that implicate the proteasome pathway in tuberculosis and extend the understanding of the pathway in stroke, advancing the...

Canadian drug savings calculator available online.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More than 1000 consumers used the powerful, consumer-friendly "Canadian Drug Savings Calculator" (http://www.resultsforamerica.org/) to calculate $6.1 million in total savings during the first week that...

Company extends its Xcelodose showcasing agreement.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Meridica, Ltd., the Cambridge, U.K.-based drug-delivery company, announced the renewal of its showcasing agreement for Xcelodose, its powder microdosing technology, with Quintiles, a pharmaceutical...

Company initiates feasibility study with Acertus of RapidMist system.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Generex Biotechnology Corp. (GNBT) has entered into an agreement with Acertus Pharma, Ltd., to evaluate the feasibility of developing a prototype drug-delivery system using Generex's RapidMist...

Preclinical data on microbubble drug delivery reported.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AVI BioPharma, Inc., (AVII) announced the presentation of preclinical data at two international conferences. The first presentation detailed a novel drug delivery mechanism, AVI's proprietary...

Studies highlight aerosol generator technology in infant mechanical ventilation.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aerogen, Inc., (AEGN) reported on data presented at the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) 49th Annual International Respiratory Congress, which highlights applications of Aerogen's OnQ...

New drug approvals rise 20% as pharma R&D and marketing unite.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) approved 15 new molecular entities (NME) in 2003 through September 30, 2003, setting the stage to outpace 2002's NME approvals by nearly 20%, according to...

Patch maker provides product development update.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NOVN) provided an update on the status of its MethyPatch and fentanyl transdermal patch products. Regarding MethyPatch, Noven's developmental methylphenidate...

Pharma-biotech alliances present lower risk opportunities.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While pharmaceutical companies may be accustomed to continually searching for blockbuster drugs, new strategies assert that licensing with biotech companies facilitates drug development and presents a...

Study shows early commercialization drives product success.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To develop a market edge in the increasingly competitive pharmaceutical industry, executives are integrating product commercialization strategies early into the drug development process, according to a...

Companies sign anti-inflammatory drug discovery deal.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scynexis Europe and GeneCare Research Institute Co Ltd in Kamakura, Japan, have announced details of a new deal between the two companies whereby Scynexis will provide a range of drug discovery,...

Super-quenching fluorescence-based assay for HTS released.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- QTL Biosystems, LLC, a provider of innovative products for biodetection, drug discovery, and life science research, announced the release of the QTL Lightspeed Caspase-3 Assay Kit. This assay...

Uroxatral offers early results in relieving urinary symptoms.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent study showed significant improvement of the urine flow 8 hours after the first dose of the prescription drug Uroxatral (10 mg once daily). This effect was confirmed following 3 days of...

$1.2M raised for research at UC Davis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In only 4 years, the Bronte Epilepsy Research Foundation has raised more than $1.2 million to advance the research of epilepsy. Under the leadership and direction of Mary Lou Sordi, whose...

Boehringer Ingelheim selects vendor to automate new plant in Germany.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Honeywell (HON) Process Solutions announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has selected Honeywell to implement Experion Process Knowledge System at its recently opened new biopharmaceutical plant in...

Matrix VSG System pivotal clinical trial commences.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AccessClosure, Inc., announced that it has commenced a clinical trial in the U.S. on the use of its Matrix VSG System, at the Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD. The Matrix VSG System...

Study shows acceptance of UFE as treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- All too frequently, a woman with symptomatic fibroids faces a hysterectomy or myomectomy to relieve her symptoms caused by the fibroids. More recently, a minimally invasive procedure called uterine...

Treatment of fibromyalgia-related pain is distinct from treatment of mood.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cypress Bioscience, Inc., (CYPB) announced data from its phase II fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) study demonstrating that treatment with milnacipran was equally effective in reducing pain for both...

Biotech company announces $8M financing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boston Life Sciences, Inc., (BLSI) announced the private placement of $8 million in convertible preferred stock and warrants with a small group of institutional and private investors. The company's...

Boston Scientific permitted to acquire up to 20% of device firm's shares.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cyberonics, Inc., (CYBX) announced that its board of directors approved an amendment of the company's shareholder rights plan to permit Boston Scientific to increase its ownership from up to 15% to up...

Cancer vaccine company reports $10M net loss; provides clinical update.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CancerVax Corporation (CNVX) announced financial results for the third quarter of 2003. For the 3 months ended September 30, 2003, the company reported a net loss of $10.0 million, as compared to a...

Capital raised for two medical device companies.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boston Equity Advisors, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and investment banking firm that assists companies with private equity financings, announced the recent closings of financing rounds for two...

DNA technology company completes initial bridge financing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., (APDN) announced that its placement agent Vertical Capital Partners, Inc., has closed on its initial $750,000 bridge financing commitment. The bridge financing was made...

Drug development company upgraded to buy by independent researcher.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- White Mountain Capital, a provider of independent research on select biotechnology companies, upgraded its rating of CV Therapeutics to buy from its initial hold rating issued in October. "The...

Milestone payment made for needle-free technology.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antares Pharma, Inc., (ANTR) announced that it has received a milestone payment from Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), the licensee of Antares Pharma's needle-free injection technology in the fields of...

Operating capital helps position device firm for 2004.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lifestream Technologies, Inc., (LFTC), a developer and marketer of consumer cholesterol monitors and professional screening instruments, announced that the $1.5 million of its recent financing being...

Oxygen therapeutics company reports loss of $0.30 per share.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biopure Corporation (BPUR) announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and the fiscal year ended October 31, 2003. For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $13.0...

Pharmaceutical company announces $252M closing of series D financing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reliant Pharmaceuticals, LLC, announced the second closing of its Series D financing. In addition to the $115 million issued in connection with the initial closing, Reliant raised an additional...

Pharmaceutical company closes $21 million Series A financing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., raised $21 million in its Series A round of funding. The round was co-led by Sutter Hill Ventures, Prospect Ventures and MPM Capital. Abingworth Management and...

Pharmaceutical company completes two rounds of fundraising.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SoLar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has completed two rounds of fundraising. Initially, SoLar raised $2.8 million at $3.50 per share, principally from insiders and investors who had previously contributed...

Pharmaceutical company files shelf registration statement.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (AMLN) announced that it has filed a shelf registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Upon being declared effective by the SEC, the...

Pharmaceutical firm's redeemable warrants expire.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (BNT) issued a reminder to the market that the company's Class B Warrants (BNT_TB) expired at the close of business on December 31, 2003, as scheduled. All...

Pricing of follow-on offering announced by pharmaceutical firm.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bradley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (BDY) announced that it has priced a follow-on offering of 4,000,000 shares of its common stock, pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3, with an...

Report shows thriving biotech community in New Jersey.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The New Jersey biotech community is thriving, showing dramatic increases in revenue and total assets. Biotech spending on research and development has nearly doubled in the past 3 years, employment...

Positive ITAX phase II results reported.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Axcan Pharma, Inc., disclosed efficacy and safety results of a phase II study related to ITAX (Itopride hydrochloride or Itopride), a patented oral gastroprokinetic drug with antiemetic properties...

Two siRNA libraries launched.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ambion announced the launch and availability of two siRNA libraries: the first targets 597 human kinases and the second targets 441 human G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The kinase siRNA...