BioWorld International articles from April 2008

BioWorld International archives from April 2008

NanoLabs raises 10m [pounds sterling] to aid race for a cheaper genome.
April 2, 2008... LONDON -- As the race for the $1,000 genome heats up, Oxford NanoLabs Ltd., one of the leading European contenders, raised 10 million [pounds sterling] US$19.89 million) in a second private round, enabling the company to develop working...

Pieris Gets $39.5m for Anticalin pipeline.
April 2, 2008... Confirming the ongoing interest in novel, non-antibody-based protein scaffolds, Pieris AG raised 25 million [euro] (US$39.5 million) in a Series B round to progress development of its preclinical pipeline of Anticalins, ligand-binding proteins...

RNA silencing strategy targets cholesterol and hepatitis C.
April 2, 2008... LONDON -- A clinical trial will begin in Denmark later this year to assess the safety of a novel treatment for infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The treatment acts by suppressing a specific micro-RNA (miRNA)--a small RNA molecule present...

Another EU administrative approval for a GM crop.
April 2, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The continuing paralysis of the European Union's authorization mechanism for biotechnology products was demonstrated again last week when EU officials announced that they had extended the approval for another GM maize that...

Gene Bridges gets license for Genencor technology.
April 2, 2008... Gene Bridges GmbH added Genencor to the growing list of users of its proprietary Red/ET genetic engineering technology. Terms were not disclosed, but the agreement entitles Genencor, the industrial biotechnology arm of Copenhagen,...

Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry released research, which it said showed the pharmaceutical sector has lost confidence in the UK as a place to do business. Of more than 100 UK-based pharmaceutical companies, three-fourths...

Cerep SA, of Paris, has launched the preclinical development of a drug candidate discovered through its collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, also of Paris.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Cerep SA, of Paris, has launched the preclinical development of a drug candidate discovered through its collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, also of Paris. The original agreement between the two companies was signed in 1997 and was renewed and...

Phynova joins OTCQX to access U.S. investors.
April 2, 2008... LONDON -- Phynova plc became the first UK biotech to list on OTCQX, a new market set up to provide access to U.S. retail investors for non-U.S. companies listed on qualifying international exchanges. The Oxford, UK-based company will issue...

China Biopharma Inc., of Hangzhou, China, reached agreement with Chinese firm Beijing Keyuan Xinhai Pharmaceutical Co. to launch newly approved pharmaceutical products made by international pharmaceutical companies.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... China Biopharma Inc., of Hangzhou, China, reached agreement with Chinese firm Beijing Keyuan Xinhai Pharmaceutical Co. to launch newly approved pharmaceutical products made by international pharmaceutical companies. Under terms of the...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, announced a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement with Princeton, N.J.-based Medarex Inc. for the production of monoclonal antibodies.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, announced a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement with Princeton, N.J.-based Medarex Inc. for the production of monoclonal antibodies. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Cytheris SA, of Paris, and Laureate Pharma Inc., of Princeton, N.J., signed a second cGMP contract agreement covering the manufacture of Cytheris' lead compound, Interleukin-7 (IL-7), a fully glycosylated recombinant human protein and critical growth factor for immune T-cell recovery.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Cytheris SA, of Paris, and Laureate Pharma Inc., of Princeton, N.J., signed a second cGMP contract agreement covering the manufacture of Cytheris' lead compound, Interleukin-7 (IL-7), a fully glycosylated recombinant human protein and critical...

Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said the Securities and Exchange Commission cleared Evotec's registration statement, which is required for the completion of the merger with Renovis Inc., of South San Francisco.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said the Securities and Exchange Commission cleared Evotec's registration statement, which is required for the completion of the merger with Renovis Inc., of South San Francisco. Renovis has called a special...

BioAlliance, Handok team for Loramyc distribution.(Asian Deal in Place, Others in Works)
April 2, 2008... PARIS -- BioAlliance Pharma SA signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Handok Pharmaceuticals granting the South Korean company commercialization rights for Loramyc in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. At the same time,...

Galantos Pharma GmbH.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Galantos Pharma GmbH, of Manz, Germany, said it has selected a candidate molecule, which is expected to move into clinical development in Alzheimer's disease in 2009. The selection triggered the payment of the final 1.2 million (US$1.9 million)...

Genfit.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 2, 2008... Genfit, of Lille, France, reported "encouraging" results from a Phase IIa trial of GFT505 in patients suffering from type 2b mixed dyslipidemia. GFT505, which emanates from Genfit's selective nuclear receptor modulator (SNuRM) platform, was...

Modigene Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 2, 2008... Modigene Inc., of Nes Ziona, Israel, closed a $2 million equity investment by a group of private investors, led by Chairman Phillip Frost, and entered a line of credit agreement that provides for the availability of an additional $10 million...

Novozymes AS, of Nottingham, UK, and King of Prussia, Pa., said it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for its propriety albumin fusion technology, albufuse, with CSL Behring, of Melbourne, Australia.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Novozymes AS, of Nottingham, UK, and King of Prussia, Pa., said it has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for its propriety albumin fusion technology, albufuse, with CSL Behring, of Melbourne, Australia. The albufuse technology...

OctoPlus NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 2, 2008... OctoPlus NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, was granted a bridge financing of up to 4 million (US$6.32 million) from its existing shareholders Life Sciences Partners and SR One to enable the company to secure one or more of the longer-term...

OncoMethylome Sciences.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... OncoMethylome Sciences, of Liege, Belgium, has granted an exclusive commercial license to LabCorp, of Burlington, N.C. for MGMT methylation testing services in the U.S. and Canada. LabCorp's Esoterix Clinical Trials Services Division was also...

Pronota.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Pronota, of Ghent, Belgium, launched a protein biomarker verification platform on March 26. It said its MASSterclass platform addresses a key bottleneck in biomarker development by enabling large-scale screening of biomarker candidates without...

Santaris Pharma.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Santaris Pharma, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said an article in the March 26, 2008, online version of Nature included the first demonstration of microRNA silencing in nonhuman primates, providing a validation of Santaris' clinical program to...

Sareum Holdings plc, of Cambridge, UK, said Beerse, Blegium-based Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a division of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, has extended its collaboration agreement in central nervous system diseases for another six months, with an option for further extension.(Other News To Note)
April 2, 2008... Sareum Holdings plc, of Cambridge, UK, said Beerse, Blegium-based Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a division of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, has extended its collaboration agreement in central nervous system diseases for another six...

UK scientists create hybrid stem cells from cow eggs.
April 9, 2008... LONDON -- Scientists in the UK have created human/animal hybrid embryos by fusing enucleated cow eggs with the nucleus of a banked cell from a human embryonic stem cell line. News of the achievement came as Parliament prepares to vote on new...

Active Biotech raising $26.9m in discounted rights offering.
April 9, 2008... Shares in Active Biotech AB dropped by almost 20 percent on news that the company would raise about SEK160 million (US$26.9 million) in a discounted rights offering that has been fully guaranteed by one of the company's largest shareholders....

Now seven gene variants help track bowel cancer.
April 9, 2008... LONDON -- The number of genetic variants now known to be associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer is continuing to increase, allowing scientists to predict that screening programs tailored to particular levels of genetic risk are...

MediGene shares rise on EndoTAG Phase II data.
April 9, 2008... Shares in MediGene AG continued their upwardprogress early this week, as the company reported details of its Phase II clinical trial of EndoTAG-1 in pancreatic cancer. Martinsried, Munich-based MediGene disclosed headline data on March 17....

Despite HIV vaccine failures, PepTcell is charging ahead.
April 9, 2008... LONDON -- UK start-up PepTcell Ltd. is shrugging off current scepticism on the prospects for an effective HIV vaccine(HIV-v) and moving forward on preclinical safety studies of its product HIV-v, with the aim of starting Phase I by the end of...

European agency focuses on processing therapies faster.
April 9, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium--The European Medicines Agency has set itself tight targets for assisting companies in developing innovative medicines. A new workplan for 2008 said it will aim to provide regulatory advice on new technology, emerging therapy...

The Bioprocessing Technology Institute, of Singapore, and Raven Biotechnologies Inc., of South San Francisco, said they are collaborating to advance the discovery of novel cancer stem cell antibodies.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... The Bioprocessing Technology Institute, of Singapore, and Raven Biotechnologies Inc., of South San Francisco, said they are collaborating to advance the discovery of novel cancer stem cell antibodies. Under the terms of the agreement, Raven...

Chrysalis Technologies, of Chennai, India, and Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., modified their collaboration to develop combination drug-device products that unite Discovery Labs' synthetic surfactant with Chrysalis' capillary aerosolization technology to address respiratory diseases.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Chrysalis Technologies, of Chennai, India, and Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., modified their collaboration to develop combination drug-device products that unite Discovery Labs' synthetic surfactant with Chrysalis' capillary...

Molecular vision purchase falls by the wayside.
April 9, 2008... LONDON -- The proposed acquisition of Molecular Vision Ltd. by life sciences investment company Acrongenomics has been called off at the 11th hour after the Swiss company was unable to complete on the terms agreed, despite being offered an...

Sanofi-Aventis stops developing two Genfit drug candidates.
April 9, 2008... PARIS -- Sanofi-Aventis has decided to discontinue the development of two drug candidates discovered as part of its collaboration with the French biotechnology company Genfit, which dates back to 1999. The two products, AVE8134 and AVE0847,...

Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Sigma-Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite SpA, of Pomezia, Italy, presented positive efficacy results of a Phase IIa heart failure study of Debio 0614 (formerly PST2744), known as istaroxime.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Sigma-Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite SpA, of Pomezia, Italy, presented positive efficacy results of a Phase IIa heart failure study of Debio 0614 (formerly PST2744), known as istaroxime. Data...

GenOway signs 2 agreements to provide mouse-rat lines.
April 9, 2008... PARIS -- GenOway SA, which is specialized in the development of genetically modified animal models, signed two master service agreements, one with the Japanese company Eisai Co. Ltd. and with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Under...

Diatos SA.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Diatos SA, of Paris, said that positive results for DTS108, a prodrug of SN38, the active metabolite of irinotecan, were published in Clinical Cancer Research. Irinotecan is a proven chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of colon and lung...

Epistem Ltd., of Manchester, UK, said Exponential Biotherapies Inc., of McLean, Va., contracted the firm to provide specialized preclinical efficacy testing services for agents likely to protect the gastrointestinal tract against radiation damage.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Epistem Ltd., of Manchester, UK, said Exponential Biotherapies Inc., of McLean, Va., contracted the firm to provide specialized preclinical efficacy testing services for agents likely to protect the gastrointestinal tract against radiation...

Fulcrum Pharma plc.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Fulcrum Pharma plc, of Hemel Hempstead, UK, has appointed Frank Armstrong as its new CEO. Armstrong has more than 20 years of experience at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, most recently as president and CEO of CuraGen Corp. and...

Galderma Pharma, of Lausanne, Switzerland, completed its $420 million tender offer for fellow dermatology drug company CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newtown, Pa., with 97 percent of CollaGenex's common stock tendered by shareholders.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Galderma Pharma, of Lausanne, Switzerland, completed its $420 million tender offer for fellow dermatology drug company CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newtown, Pa., with 97 percent of CollaGenex's common stock tendered by shareholders....

Kamada Ltd.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Kamada Ltd., of Ness Ziona, Israel, said it has met the main goal of its Phase III U.S. trial of intravenous Alpha1 Antitrypsin (AAT). The product is intended for hereditary AAT deficiency, which leads to congenital emphysema. Details of the...

Moleac.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 9, 2008... Moleac, of Helios, Singapore, said it has raised $3.5 million in a Series A financing. The investment comes from a group of private investors, who are based in both Europe and Asia, and Hunza Ventures. Moleac will use the funds to market its...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, China, said Panflu, its pandemic influenza H5N1 whole viron inactivated vaccine, has been granted a production license by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration. Panflu is the first and only approved...

Therosteon BV.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 9, 2008... Therosteon BV, of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was spun out of the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, with the goal of developing therapies for bone diseases. The company's technology is based on a drug development platform designed...

Vivalis, of Nantes, France, said that Virbac Corp., of Fort Worth, Texas, has exercised its option for a commercial license to use Vivalis' EBx platform for the production of companion animal vaccines.(Other News To Note)
April 9, 2008... Vivalis, of Nantes, France, said that Virbac Corp., of Fort Worth, Texas, has exercised its option for a commercial license to use Vivalis' EBx platform for the production of companion animal vaccines. The license is worldwide and nonexclusive,...

Medivir moves to commercialize in co-promotion deal with GSK.
April 16, 2008... Medivir AB took a first step toward building a commercial organization by entering a co-promotion agreement with London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc's Swedish subsidiary. The deal enables the company to market in Sweden a portfolio of dermatology...

GW Pharma MS pain spray fails on high placebo effect.
April 16, 2008... LONDON -- GW Pharma plc saw its shares fall by more that 25 percent when it reported its cannabis-based drug Sativex failed a Phase III trial in the treatment of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis. The shares then made a slight recovery a...

For RNAi in Huntington's disease, delivery matters.(UPS or Second-Day Air?)
April 16, 2008... Reporting findings that have implications for both Huntington's disease and inhibitory RNA, a study in the April 8, 2008, online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences adds to the body of evidence showing that as far as...

European biotechs need stellar data, team to attract investors.
April 16, 2008... MADRID, Spain -- Cold and rainy weather at the BIO-Europe Spring 2008 conference didn't dampen the spirits of company executives as they traipsed from meeting room to meeting room, eager to pursue prospective collaborators for their pipeline...

Betagenon out-licenses oncology rights to Antisoma.
April 16, 2008... Betagenon AB out-licensed to London-based Antisoma plc rights to develop and commercialize for oncology indications a series of activators of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of energy metabolism. Financial terms were...

Ardana plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * Ardana plc, of Edinburgh, Scotland, announced preliminary results from a Phase II repeat dose study of its lead compound, the GnRH antagonist Teverelix LA (Long-Acting), in patients with prostate cancer using a new, lyophilized version of the...

Lung cancer phase III trial garners Antisoma $25m.
April 16, 2008... Shares of Antisoma plc rose 9 percent Friday on the news that its partner Novartis AG has started a pivotal Phase III trial of ASA404, a tumor-vascular disrupting agent, in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The initiation of the trial...

With no partner and little cash, CeNeS goes to Paion for $21.9m.
April 16, 2008... LONDON -- CeNeS Pharmaceutical plc, a specialist in pain treatments, is being acquired by Paion AG in an all-share deal worth a measly 10.9 million [pounds sterling] (US$21.9 million). While the deal values each CeNeS share at 48.9 pence, a...

Bavarian Nordic.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Bavarian Nordic, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said scientists have for the first time demonstrated a therapeutic effect of a smallpox vaccine days after infection. Data were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Studies showed that a...

BioSolveIT GmbH, of St. Augustin, Germany, and Proteros biostructures GmbH, of Munich, Germany, have been awarded a three-year 5.5 million [euro] (US$8.7 million) development grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to support the development of fragment-based screening technologies.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * BioSolveIT GmbH, of St. Augustin, Germany, and Proteros biostructures GmbH, of Munich, Germany, have been awarded a three-year 5.5 million [euro] (US$8.7 million) development grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to...

BTG, of London and West Conshohocken, Pa.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * BTG, of London and West Conshohocken, Pa., said a proof-of-concept study of its obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) product, BGC20-0166, a combination of two marketed serotonin-modulating drugs, showed positive results and was well tolerated in...

A match made in heaven; R&D productivity via partnering.
April 16, 2008... MADRID, Spain -- More than 1,400 people and 150 companies came to the the Palacio Municipal de Congresos conference center for the second annual BIO-Europe Spring meeting with one dominant thought: partnering. It's true that partnering has...

Cardiff University.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Cardiff University, of Cardiff, Wales, said scientists they have identified stem cells within the articular cartilage of adults, which have the ability to become chondrocytes, or cartilage cells in high enough numbers to make them suitable,...

Celgene International Sarl.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Celgene International Sarl, of Boudry, Switzerland, said amrubicin hydrochloride has been designated as an orphan medicinal product by the European Commission for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer following the favorable opinion of the...

New warnings of funding famine for EU biotech.(European Roundup)
April 16, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The biotech demand for capital in Europe is at a peak, according to Ludwig Felber of financial services company Viscardi AG in Munich. He told a meeting of national biotech associations at a EuropaBio conference in...

Cellectis SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * Cellectis SA, of Romainville, France, reported a 23 percent increase in its net loss to almost 3 million [euro] (US$4.7 million) in 2007 from 2.4 million [euro] in 2006. A 27 percent rise in operating costs to 8.15 million [euro] (from 6.4...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, announced a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement with Celltrion Inc., of Incheon, South Korea, for the production of recombinant proteins.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, announced a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement with Celltrion Inc., of Incheon, South Korea, for the production of recombinant proteins. Under the agreement, Celltrion will evaluate Crucell's...

Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, signed an option and license agreement with Airmid Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., to develop a ShK peptide called Debio 0824, a highly specific Kv1.3 potassium channel blocker, currently in early...

Eurofins Scientific.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, announced the opening of a bioanalytical testing laboratory at Suzhou, near Shanghai, China, by its subsidiary, Eurofins Medinet. The company opened a laboratory in Singapore at the beginning of 2007...

Galapagos NV.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, appointed Piet Wigerinck as senior vice president of development, to oversee the company's drug candidates, including preclinical development, chemistry manufacturing & control, regulatory aspects and...

Galderma Pharma, of Lausanne, Switzerland, said that it has completed the acquisition of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newton, Pa., which will enhance Galderma's portfolio with such drugs as Oracea and MetroGel 1 percent, both for rosacea.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Galderma Pharma, of Lausanne, Switzerland, said that it has completed the acquisition of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newton, Pa., which will enhance Galderma's portfolio with such drugs as Oracea and MetroGel 1 percent, both for...

GenOway SA.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * GenOway SA, of Lyon, France, reported a sharp drop in its net loss to 1.1 million [euro] (US$1.7 million) in 2007 from 2.4 million [euro] in 2006, due in large part to a 61 percent jump in its revenues from 4.6 million [euro] to 7.4 million...

Jerini Ophthalmic, of Berlin, and PR Pharmaceuticals, of Fort Collins, Colo., announced a license and development agreement focusing on the development of sustained-release formulations for a range of ophthalmic indications, including JOI's lead drug candidates for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration JSM 6427, an integrin antagonist, and JPE 1375, an inhibitor of the complement cascade.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Jerini Ophthalmic, of Berlin, and PR Pharmaceuticals, of Fort Collins, Colo., announced a license and development agreement focusing on the development of sustained-release formulations for a range of ophthalmic indications, including JOI's...

Kamada Ltd.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Kamada Ltd., of Ness Ziona, Israel, said it was granted orphan drug status for Aerosolized Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) product to treat bronchiectasis. The product is currently undergoing Phase II trials.

Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 16, 2008... * Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc., of Karmiel, Israel, was awarded a grant of $4 million from the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade. The grant is for the advancement of its clinical and preclinical drug...

Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, signed an exclusive license agreement for its TMT isobaric tandem mass tag technology with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, signed an exclusive license agreement for its TMT isobaric tandem mass tag technology with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., of Newington, N.H., for use in biomarker discovery, validation, assay development...

Rosetta Genomics Ltd.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Rosetta Genomics Ltd., of Jersey City, N.J., and Rehovot, Israel, said it has signed an agreement with University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (UC Irvine), relating to the development and validation of diagnostic tests based on...

Sareum Holdings plc.(Other News To Note)
April 16, 2008... * Sareum Holdings plc, of Cambridge, UK, has raised 548,500 [pounds sterling] (US$1.1 million) in a placing of 219,400,000 ordinary shares.

MTM adds $15M to Series C for biomarker-based assays.
April 23, 2008... MTM Laboratories AG added another 9.6 million [euro] (US$15.3 million) to its Series C financing round, taking the total to 31.6 million [euro] and giving the company additional funds for further clinical development of its biomarker-based...

European biotech industry plunges into energy debate.
April 23, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- In the face of continuing controversy in Europe over alternative energy sources, the European biotech industry has come out strong in support of European Union initiatives to promote the use of biofuels. EuropaBio said it...

Transfer RNA shows darker side of its nature.
April 23, 2008... LONDON -- A recent study has shown that a molecule previously thought to have a "boring" and "benign" housekeeping role in the cell can trigger cancer. To the surprise of many, it turns out that the humble transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule,...

Vernalis takes $29M for now, giving up migraine revenues.
April 23, 2008... LONDON -- Vernalis plc has signed over 90 percent of European revenues from its migraine treatment frovatriptan to Paul Capital Healthcare in return for cash of 18.4 million [euro] (US$29.2 million) to recapitalize the business following its...

Diamyd raises $12M for pivotal diabetes trials.
April 23, 2008... With Phase III clinical trials of its therapeutic vaccine for type I diabetes about to start, Diamyd Medical AB replenished its coffers by raising SEK72.3 million (US$12.3 million) through a private placement with specialist biotechnology...

Phico gains $2.78M to fund antibiotic against MRSA.
April 23, 2008... LONDON -- Phico Therapeutics Ltd. closed a 1.4 million [pounds sterling] round, (US$2.78 million) enabling it to fund a Phase I trial of its lead product, an antibiotic against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The...

7TM Pharma, of Horsholm, Denmark, received an undisclosed milestone payment in its research collaboration with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Raritan, N.J.(Other News To Note)
April 23, 2008... * 7TM Pharma, of Horsholm, Denmark, received an undisclosed milestone payment in its research collaboration with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Raritan, N.J. The milestone was triggered by the selection of a preclinical candidate...

American Oriental Bioengineering Inc., of Shenzhen, China, and China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., said they have signed a deal to commercialize and develop narcotic and pain-management products in China.(Other News To Note)
April 23, 2008... * American Oriental Bioengineering Inc., of Shenzhen, China, and China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., of Jersey City, N.J., said they have signed a deal to commercialize and develop narcotic and pain-management products in China. As part of...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)
April 23, 2008... * BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, reported positive preliminary results from the pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Loramyc. The once-a-day topical formulation of the antifungal miconazole has been approved for the treatment of oropharyngeal...

Intercytex joins elite group fostering regenerative care.
April 23, 2008... LONDON -- Intercytex Group plc is joining a blue chip group of U.S. universities, hospitals and biotechs as the only non-U.S. company chosen to be involved in the formation of the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM),...

DermiPsor Ltd.(Other News To Note)
April 23, 2008... * DermiPsor Ltd., of Jerusalem, said it is preparing to hold a financing round to support an upcoming Phase III study of its nonsteroidal treatment for mild to moderate psoriasis. The company also appointed Oren Becker chairman.

Gene Bridges GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, said that Genencor International Inc. USA, a part of Danisco US Inc., of Rochester, N.Y. , has completed a commercial license agreement for the use of the Red/ET recombination technology from Gene Bridges.(Other News To Note)
April 23, 2008... * Gene Bridges GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, said that Genencor International Inc. USA, a part of Danisco US Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., has completed a commercial license agreement for the use of the Red/ET recombination technology from Gene...

Genmab AS.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
April 23, 2008... * Genmab AS, of Copenhagen, Denmark, announced findings showing that its high-affinity antibody HuMax-EGFr (zalutumumab) inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) signaling by locking EGFr molecules into a compact, inactive conformation....