BioWorld International articles from December 2001

BioWorld International archives from December 2001

Firms should remember IP value when seeking creative financing. (BIA European CEO and Investor Conference).(intellectual property)
December 5, 2001... LONDON -- With the equity markets effectively closed, European companies needing to raise money should look for ways to release the value tied up in their intellectual property. This advice came from Walter Flamenbaum, partner at Paul...

Parliament flounders in attempt to create framework for biotech.(European Parliament)
December 5, 2001... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Massive confusion over biotechnology in the European Parliament last week may, paradoxically, have slightly improved the prospects for science and industry in Europe over the medium term. That, at any rate, is what the...

Fused mutant protein points to existence of axon survival factor.
December 5, 2001... LONDON -- The discovery of a mutant gene whose protein product helps nerve cells survive has raised hopes of developing new treatments for diseases as diverse as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, AIDS and spinal cord injury. The...

ExonHit raises $26.5m privately to fund candidates, technology.(ExonHit Therapeutics S.A.)
December 5, 2001... PARIS -- ExonHit Therapeutics SA completed a third funding round in which it raise EUR30 million (US$26.5 million) from nine European venture capitalized funds, four of which are first-time investors in the Paris-based functional genomics...

EU presidency in favor of maintaining GMO moratorium.(genetically modified organisms)
December 5, 2001... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Belgium, the country that currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has come out strongly in favor of maintaining the ban on authorizing new GMOs in the EU. Belgian Environment Minister Magda...

Stem cell instability promts ReNeuron to change direction.(ReNeuron Holdings PLC)
December 5, 2001... LONDON -- ReNeuron Holdings plc said it has failed to solve stability problems with the human neural stem cells it was hoping to take into clinical trials in stroke and it now plans to bring forward a program for development of murine neural...

Acambis gains $428m contract from U.S. for smallpox vaccine.
December 5, 2001... LONDON -- Shares in Acambis plc rose by almost 40 percent to 3.15 [pounds sterling] last week after the company announced it had beaten off competition from Merck & Co. Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline plc to win a US$428 million contract from the U.S....

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V.
December 5, 2001... * Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics BV, of the Netherlands; said it received a Dutch government grant of EUR1.9 million (US$1.7 million) to fund preclinical research of gene therapy in patients with lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency. The LPL...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered into an agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. of Whitehouse Station, N.J., to synthesize small-molecule chemical libraries.
December 5, 2001... * Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered into an agreement with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., to synthesize small-molecule chemical libraries. Evotec plans to synthesize well-characterized drug-like library compounds using...

Mologen AG.
December 5, 2001... * Mologen AG, of Berlin, said its board of directors was authorized to buy back shares of the company with prior approval of the supervisory board. The authorization was limited to a maximum of 10 percent of the outstanding shares of the...

Morphosys AG.(opens HuCAL Gold antibody library)
December 5, 2001... * MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, launched a new antibody library, HuCAL Gold. Initial results show that the new library and related screening system lead to faster and more efficient antibody generation, MorphoSys said, adding that the...

KS Biomedix drops development of lead osteoarthritis compound.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... LONDON -- Shares of KS Biomedix Holdings plc fell by more than 30 percent last week when it announced it was scrapping one of its lead products, KSB301, for the treatment of osteoarthritis, after an inconclusive Phase IIb trial. This is...

EU agrees to $1B in support of genome, biotech research.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Research ministers from the 15 European Union member states agreed Monday to a five-year program of support that will make more than $1 billion available for genome and biotechnology research through 2006. A similar...

Surprise discovery shows cytokines can help repair DNA.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... LONDON -- The sunblock creams of the future could contain natural chemicals that enhance cells' own abilities to repair the DNA damage wrought by the sun, according to a study done by scientists in Germany and the Netherlands. The study...

Teva invests $10M in Proneuron, buys into expanded use of COP-1.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... NESS-ZIONA, Israel -- Proneuron Biotechnologies Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. entered a collaborative licensing agreement last week to expand applications of Copaxone (COP-1) as a neuroprotective agent in acute and chronic...

Genome Express raises $11M to advance work in genomics.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... PARIS -- Genome Express, a supplier of products and services to companies specialized in functional genomics and pharmacogenomics, raised EUR12.4 million (US$11 million) in a second funding round. The lead banker for the financing was...

Abingworth management closes life science fund at US$225M.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... LONDON -- The venture capital group Abingworth Management Ltd. announced the final closing of its new life science fund at U55225 million, significantly in excess of the original target of $150 million. Stephen Bunting, managing director of...

Phytopharm gets good results in Phase II obesity study of P57.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... LONDON -- Botanicals specialist Phytopharm plc said it achieved a 35 percent cut in calorie intake in a Phase II proof-of-principle study with its obesity treatment, P57, and said it is in discussions with the licensee, Pfizer Inc., on how to...

Medigene seeks first approval, files application for Leuprogel.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... BORNHEIM, Germany -- Medigene AG submitted a marketing authorization application for a one-month formulation of Leuprogel for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. It is Martinsried, Germany-based Medigene's first filing of an MAA. In...

Cytos, Millennium enter orphan target discovery collaboration.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... Cytos Biotechnology AG gained validation for its second main platform technology through a target discovery collaboration with Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., based on Cytos' Delphi target identification and validation system. The...

Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, has agreed to spend $40 million to reactivate its manufacturing plant in Canton, Mass., where it will manufacture smallpox vaccine for the U.S. government.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... * Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, has agreed to spend $40 million to reactivate its manufacturing plant in Canton, Mass., where it will manufacture smallpox vaccine for the U.S. government. The financing is being arranged through Baxter...

Swedish research council backs therapeutic cloning.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... Sweden looks set to follow Britain's lead in adopting a liberal climate for the conduct of stem cell research. The Swedish Research Council last week released a set of ethical guidelines for scientists working in the country and called for a...

ExonHit, BioMerieux-Pierre Fabre form cancer research alliance.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... PARIS -- ExonHit Therapeutics SA entered an alliance with BioMerieux-Pierre Fabre for the development of ExonHit's cancer diagnostic, Proof-Hit, in the breast and colon cancer areas. Proof-Hit is a set of molecular cancer diagnostic tools...

Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said the Greek government ordered an undisclosed number of doses of Bavarian Nordic's smallpox vaccine, MVA-BN (Modified Vaccinia Ankara -- Bavarian Nordic).(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... * Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said the Greek government ordered an undisclosed number of doses of Bavarian Nordic's smallpox vaccine, MVA-BN (Modified Vaccinia Ankara -- Bavarian Nordic). The company is in discussions with...

Israel.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... * Israel's chief scientist of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Carmel Vernia, published a tender this week soliciting private bids on setting up and operating the first two government biotechnology incubators. The deadline for submitting...

Oxagen Ltd., of Oxford, UK, said it is in a collaboration with Cureon A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, under which Cureon will validate gene targets for Oxagen.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... * Oxagen Ltd., of Oxford, UK, said it is in a collaboration with Cureon A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, under which Cureon will validate gene targets for Oxagen. Cureon developed SMART Validation, a target validation service based on Locked...

PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, Scotland, said the FDA asked it for further analyses of the Phase II study of its lead product, transgenically produced alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), focusing on the small number of patients with congenital AAT deficiency who did not complete the study.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2001... * PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, Scotland, said the FDA asked it for further analyses of the Phase II study of its lead product, transgenically produced alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), focusing on the small number of patients with congenital...

Xenova, Millennium collaborate on development of cancer drugs.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... LONDON -- Xenova Group plc licensed its topoisomerase inhibitor program for treating solid tumors to Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a deal that includes an up-front sum of US$11.5 million, research funding of $20 million and milestone and...

Genmab moving antibody into Phase III trials for RA.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... Genmab A/S, a Danish therapeutic human antibody development firm, continued its progress toward the front rank of European biotechnology companies by receiving FDA clearance to commence its first Phase III clinical trial, in patients with...

Malaria vaccines could lead to more malaria deaths, study says.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... LONDON -- Vaccines that are not completely effective could do more harm than good, a mathematical model developed by population biologists suggests. By allowing pathogens that would normally die out to survive, vaccines such as those being...

EU makes another attempt for policy consensus on biotech.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin told a major European Union conference on stem cells that opened here Tuesday that it is vital for Europe to be a major player in the revolution that biotechnology offers for...

GroPep eyeing TGF-beta study to help miscarriages.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- GroPep Ltd. intends to start Phase I trials of a treatment for recurrent miscarriage next year based on the use of transforming growth factor-beta. GroPep, of Adelaide, recently licensed the rights to the use of...

Merck takes CSL vaccine into Phase III HPV studies.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- A human papillomavirus virus vaccine licensed from Australian technology is being taken to Phase III trials by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. The announcement of Phase III trials, after evidence of efficacy in the...

Novuspharma moving NHL drug into phase III trials next quarter.(non-Hodgkin's lymphoma)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... Italian oncology drug development firm Novuspharma SpA is moving its lead molecule, the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treatment BBR 2778, to pivotal Phase III studies in the first quarter of the new year, following its disclosure of encouraging...

London biotech network wants to keep start-ups near home.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... LONDON -- London has many advantages as a center for biotechnology, but a shortage of incubators is forcing start-ups to cut ties with their academic base and leave London to find affordable laboratory space. "The one thing we don't have in...

Galapagos, Euroscreen align to find orphan GPCR ligands.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... PARIS -- The Belgian functional genomics company Galapagos Genomics NV entered a collaboration with another Belgian biotechnology company, Euroscreen SA, to identify activators (or ligands) of G protein-coupled receptors for which no ligands...

4SC AG.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it identified novel lead compounds for the treatment of diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, caused by bacterial biofilms. The potential drugs block the Quorum sensing, the communication between cells in a...

Alizyme plc.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Alizyme plc, of Cambridge, UK, said it successfully completed a Phase I trial of its lipase inhibitor ATL 962, and will now seek approval for a Phase II trial in clinically obese patients. The aim will be to examine the effect of ATL 962 on...

Antisoma plc.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Antisoma plc, of London, said it received notification of the granting of a U.S. patent for Therex, currently in Phase I trials for the treatment of breast cancer. Therex is a humanized antibody that recognizes MUC1, a cytokine-like receptor...

A-Viral AS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * A-Viral AS, of Oslo, Norway, said it closed NOK15 million (US$1.7 million) in a directed offering, which will enable it to continue funding research at the Dutch research organization CLB, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A-Viral, which is...

BioTissue Technologies.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * BioTissue Technologies, of Freiburg, Germany, launched BioSeed C, a 3-dimensional cartilage substitute grown from patients' own (autologous) cells. The first patients have been treated with BioSeed C. The company plans to drive the product...

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals announced the next stage of its restructuring, saying it has assigned its head office lease in Cambridge, UK, to another biotech company, De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * CeNeS Pharmaceuticals announced the next stage its restructuring, saying it has assigned its head office lease in Cambridge, UK, to another biotech company, De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. De Novo recently raised 16.75 [pound sterling] million...

KS Biomedix plc.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * KS Biomedix plc, of London, said the FDA granted orphan drug status to TransMID-107 for the treatment of recurrent, inoperable gliomas. TransMID, which uses diphtheria toxin to selectively kill cancer cells, was brought into KS Biomedix's...

Oxford GlycoSciences, of Abingdon, UK, announced the extension of its research agreement with Pfizer Inc., of New York, under which OGS is applying its proteomics technology to the discovery of biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis and other undisclosed indications.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Oxford GlycoSciences, of Abingdon, UK, announced the extension of its research agreement with Pfizer Inc., of New York, under which OGS is applying its proteomics technology to the discovery of biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease,...

Pharmexa A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, said its 83.3 percent subsidiary, Inoxell A/S, achieved the first milestone in its collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, of London, which is evaluating Inoxell's patented target validation and screening technology, CellScreen.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Pharmexa A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, said its 83.3 percent subsidiary, Inoxell A/S, achieved the first milestone in its collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, of London, which is evaluating Inoxell's patented target validation and screening...

PPL therapeutics, of Edinburgh, Scotland, said founding CEO Ron James is to retire at the end of the year and will be replaced by Geoff Cook, currently business development director.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * PPL Therapeutics, of Edinburgh, Scotland, said founding CEO Ron James is to retire at the end of the year and will be replaced by Geoff Cook, currently business development director. James founded PPL in 1987, and saw the company go on to...

Provalis plc.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Provalis plc, of Deeside, UK, said it is to delist from the Australian Stock Exchange on June 14, 2002. The company, then known as Cortecs plc, listed in Australia in 1986, when most of its operations were based there. It obtained a secondary...

Synt:em.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2001... * Synt:em, of Nimes, France, appointed Luc-Andre Granier as medical director, and as such he will be in charge of the company's internal drug development program in the field of central nervous system therapeutics. Granier previously spent six...

MorphoSys sells 10% stake as part of Schering collaboration.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... BORNHEIM, Germany -- MorphoSys AG signed a strategic collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Schering AG, of Berlin, for the development of antibody therapeutics and in vivo diagnostics. As part of the agreement, Schering agreed to...

Parasites yield clues that could lead to therapeutic approaches.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... LONDON -- Therapies for parasitic diseases such as sleeping sickness and malaria have inched closer with new insights into how parasites manage to change their protein coats to stay one step ahead of the immune system. Researchers in the...

CAT expands pipeline through alliances with Incyte, Amrad.(Cambridge Antibody Technology Group PLC)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... LONDON -- Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc made two moves to expand its drug pipeline, signing an agreement, including product development rights, with Incyte Genomics Inc. to access the Incyte LifeSeq database, and forming an alliance...

Gyros raises $30m to fund microlab production plant.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Gyros AB, a Swedish microlaboratory platform technology firm spun out of Amersham Biosciences AB last year, raised SEK309 million (US$30 million) in a second round of funding, led by 3i plc of London. Other new investors include the Swedish...

Mindset gets $15m commitment to help fund CNS programs.(Mindset Biopharmaceuticals Inc.)(central nervous system)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... JERUSALEM -- MPM Capital LP and Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (CBI) signed final agreements to invest $15 million, in two installments, in Jerusalem-based Mindset Biopharmaceuticals Inc. for a majority interest in the biotechnology company...

GroPep gains manufacturing capability through purchase.(Biotechnology Australia Proprietary Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- GroPep Ltd. in Adelaide will substantially increase its growth factor and biotech reagent manufacturing business by paying A$12 million (US$6.2 million) in cash and stock to buy the Biotech Australia (BA) group of companies...

Biota wants to improve pipeline, business; CEO stepping down.(Biota Holdings Ltd., Hugh Niall)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- Biota Holdings Ltd., which is still feeling the effects of the poor sales performance of its anti-flu drug, has announced a management revamp as part of a strategic review of the company. The changes are mostly...

Pharmacore raises $4.5m to fund development programs.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Pharmacore AB, an early stage drug development firm based in Uppsala, Sweden, raised SEK45 million (US$4.5 million) in first-round funding from Swedish investors InnovationsKapital, Swedestart and A+ Science Invest. The new cash will...

Merck takes Celltech compound forward; separate drug sidelined. (Other News To Note).(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... LONDON -- Celltech Group plc said partner Merck & Co. Inc. is taking Celltech Group plc's second-generation phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor into Phase II development as a novel oral treatment for both asthma and chronic pulmonary disease. ...

Aeres Biomedical Ltd., of London, has joined forces with Genovac AG, of Freiburg, Germany, to offer a contract service producing humanized antibodies. (Other News To Note).(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Aeres Biomedical Ltd., of London, has joined forces with Genovac AG, of Freiburg, Germany, to offer a contract service producing humanized antibodies. Genovac, founded in 1999, has developed a screening system that can identify antibodies...

Graffinity Pharmaceutical Design GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, and Structural GenomiX, of San Francisco, are collaborating to create a novel approach for more rapid lead discovery. (Other News To Note).(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Graffinity Pharmaceutical Design GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, and Structural GenomiX, of San Francisco, are collaborating to create a novel approach for more rapid lead discovery. They plan to use data on interaction topology and binding modes...

Micromet AG. (Other News To Note).(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Micromet AG, of Martinsried, Germany, raised EUR6 million in a second closing of its EUR40 million (US$35.5 million) fourth private placement round in March. Investors in the second closing are HBM BioVentures, of Zurich, Switzerland, as a new...

Mologen AG. (Other News To Note).(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Mologen AG, of Berlin, said issuance of its patent EP 0941 318 concerning the company's key technology is final now and thus legally protected in Europe. The patent covers the design principle of certain gene vectors, called MIDGE, which have...

Oxford BioMedica plc. (Other News To Note).(nerve regeneration research )(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, announced progress in its nerve regeneration research program with King's College London and said it was issuing shares in the company to the college. The research is using Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector...

Recombinant Factor VIIa used successfully in trauma setting.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... HAIFA, Israel -- Doctors at Haifa's Rambam Hospital successfully stanched gushing blood flow from a bullet wound to the head in the first successful application in this setting of Novoseven, a genetically engineered Factor VIIa product. ...

Largest UK cancer charities merging into one organization.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... LONDON -- The two largest cancer charities in the UK plan to merge, creating the largest independent cancer research organization in the world with an annual budget of 130 million [pounds sterling] (US$190 million) and a team of 3,000...

PhotoCure ASA, of Oslo, Norway, said it would receive up to EUR30 million (US$26 million) in payments, exclusive of royalties, through licensing its Metvix PDT treatment for basal cell carcinoma and precancerous skin lesions to Paris-based Galderma SA.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... PhotoCure ASA, of Oslo, Norway, said it would receive up to EUR30 million (US$26 million) in payments, exclusive of royalties, through licensing its Metvix PDT treatment for basal cell carcinoma and precancerous skin lesions to Paris-based...

Prolifix Ltd.(peptide research)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... Prolifix Ltd., of Abingdon, UK, said the U.S. Patent Office granted it a patent to a range of DP1 peptides that can induce apoptosis, and which could have therapeutic potential in cancer, psoriasis and the prevention of restenosis in...

VRI Biomedical.(probiotic treatment)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... VRI Biomedical, of Perth, Australia, started a 200-person Phase II trial of a probiotic treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. The trial involves a particular form of a beneficial microbe the company identified and labeled PCC. The trial,...

Xantos raises EUR21m to fund functional genomics, screening.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2001... BORNHEIM, Germany -- Xantos Biomedicine GmbH closed a EUR21 million (US$18.7 million) private placement in its second round of financing. The money is expected to boost the company's functional genomics research projects and to improve its...