BioWorld International articles from August 2008

BioWorld International archives from August 2008

Karo Bio rises on eprotirome Phase IIb data in dyslipidemia.
August 6, 2008... Shares in Karo Bio AB gained almost 30 percent this week on news that the company's lead drug candidate, the thyroid hormone receptor agonist eprotirome (KB2115) attained the primary endpoints in a Phase IIb trial in patients with elevated...

Gene therapy product Cerepro hits endpoint in Phase III study.
August 6, 2008... LONDON -- Ark Therapeutics plc reported that its gene therapy product Cerepro reached its primary endpoint in a pivotal European Phase III study in the treatment of glioma. The preliminary results from the multicenter trial in 236 patients...

Scientists poised to plunder a treasure of Crohn's genes.
August 6, 2008... LONDON -- The discovery of a further 21 regions of the genome that are linked to an increased risk of developing Crohn's disease is set to deliver numerous new targets that eventually could lead to novel treatments for this disease. ...

Genmab, GSK, eye launch for Ofatumumab in CLL.
August 6, 2008... Genmab A/S and development partner GlaxoSmithKline plc are gearing up for a mid-2009 launch of ofatumumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), following positive topline data from an interim analysis of a pivotal trial in the indication. ...

New PML cases Mar Tysabri's two-year anniversary in MS.('Deja Vu All Over Again')
August 6, 2008... Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp. plc reported two new cases of PML--though not much else, to the chagrin of investors and analysts--linked to multiple sclerosis therapy Tysabri (natalizumab), spoiling the controversial drug's two-year...

Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
August 6, 2008... The drug that Neuropharm Group plc, of Leatherhead, UK, is developing for treatment of autism is NPL-2008. The name was incorrect in an article in the July 30, 2008, issue of BioWorld International. Editor's note: The correction has been...

BioAlliance gets ondansetron license from APR and Labtec.
August 6, 2008... PARIS -- BioAlliance Pharma SA signed an exclusive licensing agreement with APR Applied Pharma Research SA and its joint-venture partner, Labtec GmbH, for the commercialization rights in Europe to the thin-film formulation of ondansetron. ...

Missing its founders, MMI group moves on.(Medical Marketing International)
August 6, 2008... LONDON -- Medical Marketing International (MMI) Group plc has emerged with a new, leaner shape following a strategic review initiated when the founders were forced out in April. The company intends to divest various assets to focus on two...

Actelion Ltd.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Actelion Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said Tracleer (bosentan), a dual endothelin receptor antagonist, has been approved in the European Union for the treatment of patients with mildly symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Since 2002,...

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 6, 2008... Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said European regulators recommended approval of Toctino (alitretinoin) as an oral therapy for severe refractory chronic hand eczema for use in adults who are unresponsive to corticosteroids....

BioCancell Therapeutics Inc., of Jerusalem.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... BioCancell Therapeutics Inc., of Jerusalem, closed a previously announced $2.5 million financing agreement with Tikcro Technologies Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel. The money is part of a $3.7 million private financing to support BioCancell's cancer...

Kowa Co. Ltd., of Nagoya, Japan.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Kowa Co. Ltd., of Nagoya, Japan, has acquired ProEthic Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Montgomery, Ala., and effective Sept. 1, ProEthic will become Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and will assume responsibility for all sales and marketing functions...

Living Cell Technologies Ltd.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Auburn, Australia, appointed Robert Caspari as CEO. Caspari was previously a director of the company and served as president and CEO of Aurogen Inc.

MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it has sold its European rights of rosacea drug Oracea to Galderma Pharma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland. MediGene said it will receive successive milestone payments totaling 32 million [euro] (US$49.9...

ExonHit therapeutics reports higher losses in past 6 months.(Financial report)
August 6, 2008... PARIS -- ExonHit Therapeutics SA reported a 20 percent increase in its net loss to 4.3 million [euro] (US$6.8 million) in the first half of this year from 3.6 million [euro] in the corresponding six months of 2007, as a result of a combination...

Orexo AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, Scotland, said they have extended their existing European licensing agreement for Abstral (rapinyl) for breakthrough cancer pain to include North America..(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Orexo AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, Scotland, said they have extended their existing European licensing agreement for Abstral (rapinyl) for breakthrough cancer pain to include North America. The North...

EU members moving ahead create pediatric drug plans.
August 6, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- In its first full year of operation, the new pediatric medicines committee at the European Medicines Agency in London has approved only 15 pediatric investigation plans, according to data just released by the European...

Silence Therapeutics plc, of London, said the initiation of a Phase II trial of RTP-801i-14 (PF-4523655) by its partner Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Fremont, Calif., and Pfizer Inc., of New York, triggered a $1.9 million milestone payment to Silence from Quark.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Silence Therapeutics plc, of London, said the initiation of a Phase II trial of RTP-801i-14 (PF-4523655) by its partner Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Fremont, Calif., and Pfizer Inc., of New York, triggered a $1.9 million milestone payment to...

Synairgen plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 6, 2008... Synairgen plc, of Southampton, UK, said it began its second clinical study of inhaled interferon beta in the treatment of asthma. The Phase I study, using an in-licensed formulation of inhaled IFN-beta, is designed to establish safety at four...

Syntaxin Ltd., of Oxford, UK.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... Syntaxin Ltd., of Oxford, UK, said its partner, Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif., is to start clinical development of a re-targeted endopeptidase drug in the treatment of chronic pain. The product was discovered using a proprietary discovery...

ThromboGenics NV.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... ThromboGenics NV, of Leuven, Belgium, said a group of private investors based in Belgium has acquired an 8 percent stake in the company from Biggar Ltd., a charitable foundation that now holds a 9.8 percent stake in the firm.

UCB SA.(Other News To Note)
August 6, 2008... UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said it received a not-approvable letter from the FDA for lacosamide in diabetic neuropathic pain. The company said it plans to seek clarification from the FDA and to find out what is needed for marketing approval....

Tough biotech lesson learned: fighting big pharma is costly.(Biota Settles with GSK)
August 13, 2008... LONDON -- Biota Holdings Ltd. has written to shareholders to explain why it dropped a four year-long legal action against GlaxoSmithKline plc over a claim that the London-based pharma company failed to promote Biota's flu treatment Relenza...

Court overrules HGS patent on tumor necrosis factor.
August 13, 2008... LONDON -- The high court in London has revoked a patent on a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) held by Human Genome Sciences Inc., on the grounds that the company failed to specify any use for the sequence when it was filed in 1996. It is the...

Malaria genome insights start to yield potential drug targets.
August 13, 2008... LONDON -- A new understanding of how the malaria parasite hijacks the workings of the red blood cell could lead to new drugs to treat the disease, both those that could kill the parasite outright and those that could weaken its ability to cause...

Diamyd seeking partner for its LADA vaccine.
August 13, 2008... Diamyd Medical AB reported five-year data indicating that use of its therapeutic vaccine treatment for treating latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) "significantly lowers" the risk that patients will require insulin therapy. The...

Diatos launches two trials in breast and prostate cancer.
August 13, 2008... PARIS -- Diatos SA launched two multicenter Phase II trials of DTS-201, a peptidic prodrug of doxorubicin, to evaluate its safety and efficacy as a second-line treatment for hormone refractory prostate cancer and as a first-line therapy in...

CMC Biologics A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it entered into an agreement with Symphogen A/S, of Lyngby, Denmark.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... CMC Biologics A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it entered into an agreement with Symphogen A/S, of Lyngby, Denmark, for process development and current good manufacturing practices manufacture of an undisclosed polyclonal antibody product...

Flamel Technologies SA.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... Flamel Technologies SA, of Lyon, France, reported a sharp drop in its net loss for the first half of 2008, which was slashed to $7. 1 million from $22.7 million in the corresponding six months of 2007. Although sales declined to $7.9 million...

Galapagos NV.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said revenue in the first half of 2008 was up 30 percent, to 33.6 million [euro] (US$50 million), and net loss was down by 44 percent, to 9.4 million [euro]. Other highlights were revenues of 23.7 million...

Celgene calls it quits in GPC satraplatin deal.
August 13, 2008... Celgene Corp. has ended its nearly three-year partnership with embattled German firm GPC Biotech AG on its prostate cancer drug satraplatin. The announcement comes a week after Summit, N.J.-based Celgene withdrew its European marketing...

GammaCan International Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 13, 2008... GammaCan International Inc., of Kiryat Ono, Israel, said it completed additional experiments evaluating its VitiGam program in a mouse melanoma model, which showed a dose response of tumors when treated with IgG preparations derived from...

Inion Ltd., of Tampere, Finland, said it has signed an out-licensing agreement with Curative Biosciences Inc., of Waltham, Mass.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 13, 2008... Inion Ltd., of Tampere, Finland, said it has signed an out-licensing agreement with Curative Biosciences Inc., of Waltham, Mass., covering certain of its novel bioactive technologies for the promotion of bone regrowth and repair when treating...

EMEA issues warning on advanced therapies.(European Medicines Evaluation Agency )
August 13, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's regulators are beginning their hunt to bring gene and cell therapy products into their domain. The European Medicines Agency issued an early warning last week that new rules on advanced therapies...

Santhera appeals European rejection of idebenone.
August 13, 2008... Santhera Pharmaceuticals AG has requested a re-examination of the recent negative opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in response to its filing of idebenone (Sovrima) as...

InterMed Discovery GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 13, 2008... InterMed Discovery GmbH, of Dortmund, Germany, said that it has established proof of principle in a preclinical study for its optimized lead compound IMD-026260, an anticancer drug candidate. The optimized lead displays an outstanding cytotoxic...

ESBATech's series B adds $22m for antibody fragment pipeline.
August 13, 2008... Two years after a $41 million Series B investment for ESBATech AG, the Swiss firm extended the round to bring in an additional CHF23 million (US$22 million) to support ongoing work with its antibody fragment pipeline, including a lead program...

Meda AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, of Aliso Viejo, Calif, have agreed to form joint ventures in Australia, Canada and Mexico to develop, market and commercialize current and future products.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... Meda AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, of Aliso Viejo, Calif., have agreed to form joint ventures in Australia, Canada and Mexico to develop, market and commercialize current and future products. The joint...

Modigene Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 13, 2008... Modigene Inc., of Nes-Ziona, Israel, said its Israeli-based R&D subsidiary received approval for a grant from the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist in support of the development program for interferon-beta-CTP, its longer-acting version of...

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd., of Oxford, UK, has gained the exclusive rights from Harvard University's Office of Technology Development to develop and commercialize a number of nanopore technological breakthroughs developed in laboratories...

Pronova BioPharma ASA, of Lysaker, Norway, reported a 34 percent increase in revenue for the second quarter, which totaled NOK316.3 million (US$60.9 million).(Other News To Note)(Financial report)
August 13, 2008... Pronova BioPharma ASA, of Lysaker, Norway, reported a 34 percent increase in revenue for the second quarter, which totaled NOK316.3 million (US$60.9 million). Net profit for the first half of the year reached NOK122.3 million, or NOK0.41 per...

Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, and Idaho Technology Inc., of Salt Lake City, said they have reached a settlement agreement for rights to a suite of intellectual property relating to Rotor-Gene instruments.(Other News To Note)
August 13, 2008... Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, and Idaho Technology Inc., of Salt Lake City, said they have reached a settlement agreement for rights to a suite of intellectual property relating to Rotor-Gene instruments. The agreement covers Idaho...

Antisoma cancer drug shows good phase II prostate data.
August 20, 2008... LONDON -- Antisoma plc reported further clinical progress with its first-in-class vascular disrupting agent ASA404, announcing two-year survival of 33 percent in hormone refractory prostate cancer patients receiving ASA404 plus docetaxel, vs....

PregLem moves PGL4001 into uterine fibroids trials.
August 20, 2008... PregLem SA moved its lead drug candidate, PGL4001 (ulipristal), into two Phase III clinical trials in symptomatic uterine myoma, a benign solid tumor of the genital tract in women of reproductive age. The condition, also known as uterine...

Blinatumomab gets 100% response rate before MTD.(T Cells BiTE Back)
August 20, 2008... In the Aug. 15, 2008, issue of Science, researchers reported interim data from an ongoing Phase I trial of its experimental drug blinatumomab. In the trial, which tests the BiTE antibody as single agent for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's...

Protherics, others in Europe join parade of potential M&As.
August 20, 2008... The flurry of merger and acquisition activity this year has been targeted mostly at U.S. companies, but their European brethren aren't being overlooked, now including London-based Protherics plc. While U.S. biotechs have been takeout...

EU to hand out millions for biotech research.
August 20, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union will offer grants next month of up to 12 million (US$20 million) [euro] per project for research into biotechnology. The money is being released under the EU's five-year research funding program for...

Bavarian Nordic A/S.(Other News To Note)
August 20, 2008... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, said its subsidiary, BN ImmunoTherapeutics, entered a partnership with the National Cancer Institute to jointly develop immunotherapies in prostate cancer. Under the cooperative research and...

Mesoblast Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 20, 2008... Mesoblast Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, reported successful preclinical trial results showing that its adult stem cells regenerated and regrew damaged knee cartilage in postmenopausal osteoarthritis. The company intends to target product...

Cytos signs $139m deal with Pfizer for Immunodrug vaccines.
August 20, 2008... As three of its own Immunodrug vaccine candidates advance through clinical trials, Cytos Biotechnology AG signed a CHF150 million (US$139 million) technology deal with Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine unit. The exclusive, global agreement provides...

NeuroSurvival Technologies Ltd., of Petach-Tikva, Israel, and Ion Beam Applications SA, of LouvainLa-Neuve, Belgium, agreed to collaborate on the radiolabeling and distribution of Aposense [18-F]-ML-10, NST's agent for molecular imaging of apoptosis, to clinical trial sites.(Other News To Note)
August 20, 2008... NeuroSurvival Technologies Ltd., of PetachTikva, Israel, and Ion Beam Applications SA, of LouvainLa-Neuve, Belgium, agreed to collaborate on the radiolabeling and distribution of Aposense [18-F]-ML-10, NST's agent for molecular imaging of...

Panacea Biotec Ltd.(Other News To Note)
August 20, 2008... Panacea Biotec Ltd., of New Delhi, India, said it will supply UNICEF with the firm's EasyFive pentavalent vaccine over the next two years under an award worth $34.2 million. EasyFive, India's first fully liquid pentavalent vaccine prequalified...

SymBio's partner list grows, licenses NHL drug to Eisai.(Potential $36m for Japanese Rights)(Company overview)
August 20, 2008... SymBio Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a firm founded three years ago with the aim of bridging the gap between drug developers and patients in the Japan and Asia-Pacific regions, signed neighbor Tokyo-based Eisai Co. Ltd. to a Japanese co-development and...

RFS Pharma LLC, of Atlanta, and Wacker Chemie AG, of Munich, Germany, signed a manufacturing deal in which RFS will gain exclusive rights to a new process for the synthesis of Amdoxovir, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, in Phase II studies in HIV-1-infected patients.(Other News To Note)
August 20, 2008... RFS Pharma LLC, of Atlanta, and Wacker Chemie AG, of Munich, Germany, signed a manufacturing deal in which RFS will gain exclusive rights to a new process for the synthesis of Amdoxovir, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, in Phase II...

Signature Diagnostics AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 20, 2008... Signature Diagnostics AG, of Potsdam, Germany, raised 5.1 million (US$7.5 million) [euro] in a Series C round to fund development of its predictive diagnostics for colorectal cancer. The new cash also will support the company's capacity to...

Diabetes rivals climate change, war, economy in global relevance.(The Bioworld Diabetes Report 2008)
August 20, 2008... Diabetes: One of the World's Top Dynamics Society tends to make critical economic, health and safety decisions that have a defining-to-cataclysmic range-of-effect, based on its consideration of important current events or factors, be it...

Aiming for profitability, Nanogen signs merger deal with Elitech.
August 20, 2008... Cash-strapped Nanogen Inc. is being acquired by privately held French firm Elitech Group in a reverse merger intended to create a global in vitro diagnostics firm and to accelerate the San Diego biotech's path to profitability. For the...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)
August 20, 2008... * Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, reported total product sales of $16.5 million for the second quarter. The company said it sold 2.72 million doses of hepatitis A vaccine Healive and 180,000 doses of Bilive, a combined hepatitis A and...

Oxford BioMedica rejects 'surprise' GeneThera offer.
August 20, 2008... UK-based Oxford BioMedica Plc. said its board unanimously rejected an offer from GeneThera Inc. to buy the company for 188 million [pounds sterling] (US$350 million), at a price of 35 pence per share. The price represents about a 300...

Uniseed Management Pty Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, has committed $630,000 and $530,000 to DendriMed Pty Ltd. and TenasiTech Pty Ltd., respectively.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 20, 2008... Uniseed Management Pty Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, has committed $630,000 and $530,000 to DendriMed Pty Ltd. and TenasiTech Pty Ltd., respectively. Both companies were spun out of Brisbane-based UniQuest Pty. Ltd., which was established at...

Novosom in-licenses antisense CD40 inhibitors from isis pharma.
August 27, 2008... Novosom AG in-licensed from Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. the rights to antisense inhibitors that target CD40 mRNA for several indications, including Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and organ transplant rejection. Terms were not...

Bacterial pneumonia, not flu, blamed in 1918 pandemic deaths.
August 27, 2008... Bacterial pneumonia and not the flu caused most of the deaths during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, officials from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported. Viral damage followed by bacterial...

New EuropaBio chief urges more science in regulation.(Interview)
August 27, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The new head of Europe's biggest biotech association is determined to improve the climate the industry operates in. Willy De Greef, who has just taken over as secretary general of EuropaBio, insisted the EU should deliver...

NicOx shares slide following goldman sachs downgrade.
August 27, 2008... PARIS -- Shares in NicOx SA have fallen by more than one-quarter on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Paris since the announcement by Pfizer Inc. that it was discontinuing its glaucoma collaboration with the French company. That...

F2G snares 6.3m [pounds sterling] to boost fungal-fighting compound.(Financings Roundup)
August 27, 2008... LONDON -- Antifungals specialist F2G Ltd. completed a 6.3 million [pounds sterling] (US$11.7 million) funding round, enabling it to advance development of the lead compound FG3622, a novel small molecule that is active against a number of...

SpePharm Holding BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, closed on a 16 million [euro] (US$23.8 million) equity financing round to fund ongoing growth and entered into a 10 million [euro] revenue interest acquisition financing agreement related to its purchase of Dantrium for Europe and other markets from Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, a division of P&G, of Cincinnati.(Financings Roundup)
August 27, 2008... SpePharm Holding BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, closed on a 16 million [euro] (US$23.8 million) equity financing round to fund ongoing growth and entered into a 10 million [euro] revenue interest acquisition financing agreement related to...

BioVEX reaches the clinic with genital herpes vaccine.
August 27, 2008... LONDON -- BioVEX Inc. reported a significant milestone in its clinical development programs, winning approval from UK regulators for a Phase I study of its genital herpes vaccine. It is the first infectious disease product based on the...

LifeCycle gets $29m up front in Fenoglide royalties deal.($105M Possible)
August 27, 2008... Danish firm LifeCycle Pharma A/S has sold the royalties from its Fenoglide (fenofibrate) cholesterol-lowering drug to Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners LP, in exchange for a payment of up to $105 million, including $29 million up front. ...

Ablynx NV, of Ghent, Belgium, said that the Alzheimer's disease collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Mannheim, Germany, was proceeding well and therefore the research funding has been extended for another year.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Ablynx NV, of Ghent, Belgium, said that the Alzheimer's disease collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Mannheim, Germany, was proceeding well and therefore the research funding has been extended for another year. Boehringer Ingelheim...

Acrongenomics Inc., of Geneva, signed an agreement to restructure its relationship with Molecular Vision Ltd., of London, to terminate the May 2007 deal, resulting in Acrongenomics holding a substantial equity position in Molecular Vision.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 27, 2008... Acrongenomics Inc., of Geneva, signed an agreement to restructure its relationship with Molecular Vision Ltd., of London, to terminate the May 2007 deal, resulting in Acrongenomics holding a substantial equity position in Molecular Vision....

Aposense raises $13.3m for apoptosis technology.(Name Change and New Focus)
August 27, 2008... Yoram Ashery said that when his firm, formerly known as NeuroSurvival Technologies Ltd., was established in 1997 with the goal of translating the functions of apoptosis--programmed cell death--into useful clinical applications, it initially...

Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Omeros Corp., of Seattle, said they have entered into an agreement for the discovery and development of fully human antibodies for Omeros' mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 program.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Omeros Corp., of Seattle, said they have entered into an agreement for the discovery and development of fully human antibodies for Omeros' mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 program. Under the...

Anadis Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 27, 2008... Anadis Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, reported progress in its accelerated program to develop a nasal antibody spray to provide immediate postexposure prophylaxis against a range of influenza viruses. Working with scientists at the University...

Arpida Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 27, 2008... Arpida Ltd., of Reinach, Switzerland, said the European Medicines Agency has accepted for review its marketing authorization application for intravenous iclaprim as a treatment for complicated skin and soft tissue infections. The firm said its...

Avantogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it raised A$1 million (US$873,063) in a private placement of stock.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Avantogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it raised A$1 million (US$873,063) in a private placement of stock. The company is selling 20 million new ordinary shares at A5 cents each. The company said the funds will be used to increase its...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, has been granted the main patent for its Lauriad drug delivery technology in Europe. The patent describes and protects a muco-adhesive tablet for various applications in the field of opportunistic infections...

Biota Holdings Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said that the 2005 collaboration and license agreement with Gaithersburg, Md-based MedImmune LLC, which is now part of AstraZeneca, of London, has been assigned to AstraZeneca, which also has secured the rights to a number of Asian and Pacific territories not held by MedImmune under the original agreement.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Biota Holdings Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said that the 2005 collaboration and license agreement with Gaithersburg, Md-based MedImmune LLC, which is now part of AstraZeneca, of London, has been assigned to AstraZeneca, which also has...

Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, and Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., may have to revise the labeling for multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to include the two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) reported early this month in patients receiving Tysabri monotherapy, the FDA announced Monday.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, and Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., may have to revise the labeling for multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to include the two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)...

Galapagos NV.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, has acquired a structure-based drug discovery service from Sareum of Cambridge, UK, for 695,000 [euro] in cash (US$1 million). The company said the new assets will strengthen its service division BioFocus DPI...

Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, of Mainz, Germany, said it has sold the majority of its shares to ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH, of Munich, Germany.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, of Mainz, Germany, said it has sold the majority of its shares to ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH, of Munich, Germany. The firm said the shares were held formerly by Ingro Finanz, KfW, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg,...

Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, has reached the fifth milestone for ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) under its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, garnering a payment of approximately DKK232.7 million (US$48.5 million).(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, has reached the fifth milestone for ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) under its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, garnering a payment of approximately DKK232.7 million (US$48.5 million). The milestone...

Meda AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc., entered a settlement agreement with Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, that resolves the U.S. patent litigation regarding Cobalt's proposed generic version of Astelin.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Meda AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc., entered a settlement agreement with Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, that resolves the U.S. patent litigation regarding...

Mesoblast Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
August 27, 2008... Mesoblast Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said that its allogenic, or "off-the-shelf," cell therapy product was safe and highly effective in preclinical trials for interbody fusion of the cervical spine in the neck. The company sees the results...

Pronova BioPharma ASA, of Lysaker, Norway, said the District Court of Rome decided not to uphold Pronovo's motion for a preliminary injunction against Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, of Parma, Italy.(Other News To Note)
August 27, 2008... Pronova BioPharma ASA, of Lysaker, Norway, said the District Court of Rome decided not to uphold Pronovo's motion for a preliminary injunction against Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, of Parma, Italy. Though written arguments of the court's ruling have...