BioWorld International articles from December 2003

BioWorld International archives from December 2003

Inaugural European convention pushes Pan-European perspective.(Cordia-EuropaBio Convention 2003)
December 3, 2003... VIENNA, Austria -- "Biotechnology will be the industry of this century," Mary Harney, deputy prime minister of Ireland and minister for enterprise, trade and employment, said in an opening session of the first Cordia-EuropaBio Convention, which...

Breast cancer gene discovery adds to arsenal of researchers.(EMSY)
December 3, 2003... LONDON -- The long-sought "third gene" for breast cancer has finally been found--and it has a clear role in sporadic cases of breast and ovarian cancer. The international consortium of researchers that discovered the gene, which members...

Celltech regains all rights to CDP 870 as Pfizer backs out.
December 3, 2003... LONDON -- Celltech Group plc is taking back full rights to CDP 870 following Pfizer Inc.'s request last month to renegotiate financial terms of the $280 million deal agreed to in March 2001. Celltech said it refused to make material changes...

Glycart raises CHF18M to fund program in antibody modification.
December 3, 2003... Swiss firm Glycart Biotechnology AG raised CHF18 million (US$13.9 million) in a Series A financing round to fund further development of its preclinical portfolio of modified therapeutic antibodies. The company was spun out of the Swiss...

Medivir revamps Roche Alliance, enters deal with Chinese pharma.(Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd.)
December 3, 2003... You win some, and--maybe--you lose some. That's one way of looking at Medivir AB's latest news: The Swedish biotechnology firm signed new drug discovery deals with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and with Chinese pharmaceutical firm Jiangsu...

Acambis plc.(Other News To Notice)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, said CFO Gordon Cameron will take up the position of acting CEO Jan. 1, after John Brown, the current holder of the post, resigns. Brown said the company expects to make a permanent appointment in the first...

Agenix Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said its AGEN BioMedical subsidiary entered a license and supply agreement for the D-dimer protein with Biosite Inc., of San Diego.(Other News To Notice)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Agenix Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said its AGEN BioMedical subsidiary entered a license and supply agreement for the D-dimer protein with Biosite Inc., of San Diego. Biosite plans to incorporate AGEN's 3B6 antibody, specific for D-dimer,...

Report shows how EU firms trail Americans, even in Europe.(European Union Roundup)(trends in patent licensing by biotechnology industry)
December 3, 2003... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- New data released here last week confirmed that the European Union is continuing to lag behind the U.S. on biotechnology patents. A report from the EU's research services, titled "Key figures 2003-2004," reveals that...

Newron plans funding round as CNS drug nears Phase III.(safinamide)
December 3, 2003... Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, an Italian CNS drug development firm, has embarked on a new investment round, seeking additional financing to enable it to fund a pivotal Phase III trial of its candidate drug for Parkinson's disease, safinamide, in...

BresaGen merging operations of stem cell unit with CyThera.
December 3, 2003... SYDNEY, Australia -- A stem cell research company being spun out of BresaGen Ltd. in Adelaide, Australia, plans to merge with a U.S. stem cell company, and venture capitalists plan to inject $5 million into the merged entity. Once the BresaGen...

Antisoma raising 15.2 M [pounds sterling] to fuel acquisitions, development.
December 3, 2003... LONDON -- Antisoma plc is raising 15.2 [pounds sterling] million (US$26.2 million) in a fully underwritten placing and open offer to fund the acquisition of new products and intensify development of existing programs. CEO Glyn Edwards told...

Xenova raising 21.1 M [pounds sterling] to fund trials of TransMID, other drugs.
December 3, 2003... LONDON -- Xenova Group plc is raising 21.1 [pounds sterling] million (US$36.3 million) in a UK placing and open offer, and a U.S. private placement, enabling the company to fund Phase III trials of TransMID, the glioma treatment it acquired...

Innogenetics plans to raise 39 M [euro] through public offering.
December 3, 2003... PARIS -- Innogenetics NV plans to raise about 39 [euro] million through a public share offering that is due to be launched today and close Dec. 9. It is issuing about 2.54 million shares at 14.10 [euro] per share, plus an overallotment...

Amsterdam molecular therapeutics BV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Amsterdam molecular therapeutics BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, reported it confirmed the efficacy of its lipoprotein lipase gene therapy in a second animal model. The results, presented at the European Society of Gene Therapy meeting in...

BASF Pharma, of Ludwigshafen, Germany, received a license for an enzyme for the biocatalytic synthesis of a pharmaceutical intermediate from Diversa Corp., of San Diego.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... BASF Pharma, of Ludwigshafen, Germany, received a license for an enzyme for the biocatalytic synthesis of a pharmaceutical intermediate from Diversa Corp., of San Diego. BASF will produce the biocatalyst and apply it in one of its biocatalytic...

EpiTan Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Melanotan)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... EpiTan Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said Sydney University researchers reported Phase II results showing that treatment with Melanotan resulted in a significant increase in skin melanin in volunteers treated with the drug. Also, fairer-skin...

Evolutec Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Evolutec Ltd., of Oxford, UK, was granted its first U.S. patent on vasoactive amino-binding proteins involved in inflammatory disease, derived from tick saliva, blood-feeding parasites including leeches and mosquitoes, and venom-producing...

Gamida-Cell Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, said preclinical results show that its technology can produce an expanded population of stem cells with limited differentiation, without using animal serum. The company is planning to develop a serum-free version...

GPC Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, appointed Michael Lytton as vice chairman of the company's supervisory board. Lytton is a general partner with Oxford Bioscience Partners and has served on GPC's supervisory board since 2001. In German...

Intercell AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, appointed David Ebsworth to its supervisory board. Ebsworth, presently a consultant to Nomura, has more than 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with companies including Pfizer Inc., Bayer AG...

IsoTis OrthoBiologics SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... IsoTis OrthoBiologics SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland and Irvine, Calif., created a spin-off called EpiSource as an independent vehicle for its wound-management portfolio, which includes EpiDex, Allox and AcuDress. EpiDex, a treatment for...

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, received a U.S. patent on a specific manufacturing process for viruses that are suitable for use in therapies and research. In the manufacturing process, artificial chromosomes are introduced into a cell to...

Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, received Swiss regulatory approval for Erbitux (cetuximab) to treat patients with colorectal cancer who no longer respond to standard chemotherapy treatment with irinotecan.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, received Swiss regulatory approval for Erbitux (cetuximab) to treat patients with colorectal cancer who no longer respond to standard chemotherapy treatment with irinotecan. The approval, which allows the use...

Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, entered a collaborative research and licensing agreement with Schering AG, of Berlin, which will fund the program for two years to develop potential therapies for prostate disease, male infertility and contraceptive options.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, entered a collaborative research and licensing agreement with Schering AG, of Berlin, which will fund the program for two years to develop potential therapies for prostate disease, male infertility and...

MorphoSys AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, was awarded a U.S. patent on its methods for high-level production of expressed sequence tags as fusion proteins and the subsequent generation of antibodies against those proteins. This award brings the...

Oxford BioMedica plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, said the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, a U.S. nonprofit organization, will fund preclinical studies of RetinoStat, a gene therapy treatment for age-related macular degeneration. The product uses Oxford...

Phytopharm plc, of Godmanchester, UK, said its first botanicals product to reach the market will be PYM50014 for the treatment of canine osteoarthritis.(Other News To Note)(Genetix Animal Health and Nutrition Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Phytopharm plc, of Godmanchester, UK, said its first botanicals product to reach the market will be PYM50014 for the treatment of canine osteoarthritis. The company has sealed an agreement with Genetix Animal Health and Nutrition Ltd. and the...

Scottish Biomedical Lid., of Glasgow, UK, signed a 800 million yen (US$7.2 million) agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co Ltd., of Tokyo, for the discovery of new targets and leads in the field of allergy and immunology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Scottish Biomedical Lid., of Glasgow, UK, signed a 800 million yen (US$7.2 million) agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co Ltd., of Tokyo, for the discovery of new targets and leads in the field of allergy and immunology. That is in addition...

Vernalis plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Vernalis plc, of Winnersh, UK, said it has almost completed the process of integrating British Biotech plc and Vernalis Group plc, following the merger of the two companies. The British Biotech headquarters in Oxford, UK, will close this week,...

Actelion, Merck enter oral renin inhibitor pact worth up to $272m.
December 10, 2003... Swiss biopharmaceutical firm Actelion Ltd. added $10 million to its cash pile, on the strength of an exclusive alliance with Merck & Co. Inc. in the area of oral renin inhibitors. The Allschwil-based firm could earn up to $262 million more,...

Europe fumbles two major biotech-related decisions.
December 10, 2003... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union member states have failed to reach agreement on two key biotechnology-related issues in the last week, demonstrating yet again the difficult political background the biotechnology industry has to work...

'Reverse vaccination' might help stop unwanted immune response.
December 10, 2003... LONDON -- The discovery of a way of damping down the immune response to specific antigens could have important clinical implications for some transplant patients and for those with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and...

Clinical trials could become more difficult for small firms.(Cordia-Euro Bio Convention 2003)
December 10, 2003... VIENNA, Austria -- The rules governing clinical trials in Europe will become much stricter after May, when the EU's Clinical Trials Directive comes into force, creating additional challenges for small biotech companies that are already...

Cyclacel in-licenses cancer compound from Sankyo Co.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... LONDON -- Cyclacel Ltd. has beaten its larger brethren to in-license CYC682, an orally available nucleoside analogue that has completed two U.S. Phase I trials, from Sankyo Co. Ltd., of Tokyo. Spiro Rombotis, CEO, told BioWorld...

Antisoma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Antisoma plc, of London, said its targeted apoptosis product AS1406 prolonged survival in mice with human lymphomas. Whereas all the animals in the control group died by Day 34, more than 20 percent of those receiving AS1406 were still alive...

Benitec Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Queensland Department of Primary Industries)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Benitec Ltd., of Queensland, Australia; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Canberra, Australia; and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in Queensland entered a strategic agreement that will...

Biobase GmbH, of Wolfenbuttel, Germany, entered a nonexclusive agreement to be the worldwide distributor of NetPro, a protein-interaction database belonging to Molecular Connections, of Bangalore, India.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Biobase GmbH, of Wolfenbuttel, Germany, entered a nonexclusive agreement to be the worldwide distributor of NetPro, a protein-interaction database belonging to Molecular Connections, of Bangalore, India. The product contains more than 30,000...

Bioprogress plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Bioprogress plc, of March, UK, is raising 6.6 million [pounds sterling] (US$11.4 million) in a fully underwritten placing to build a manufacturing plant for its XGEL, gelatin-free pharmaceutical gel. The company, which raised 5 million...

Bavarian Nordic investing in production facility, R&D.
December 10, 2003... Danish vaccine developer Bavarian Nordic A/S is acquiring its own manufacturing capability, which, from spring 2005, will enable it to produce up to 120 million vaccine doses annually. The Copenhagen-based firm is purchasing a traditional...

French Food Safety Agency has Bt11 sweet corn doubts.
December 10, 2003... PARIS -- The French Food Safety Agency expressed reservations about the genetically modified Bt11 sweet corn of Syngenta AG, shortly before ministers from the 15 European Union members were due to meet and decide whether or not to end the...

Stockholm planning bioscience hub; funding concerns remain.
December 10, 2003... STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Stockholm's city authorities and its three principal universities are cooperating on a master plan to develop a new bioscience hub in the north-western quarter of the Swedish capital by the end of the decade. The overall...

Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Tripos Inc., of St. Louis, released favorable results from the companies' discovery research partnership.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Tripos Inc., of St. Louis, released favorable results from the companies' discovery research partnership. In less than three months, Tripos successfully designed and synthesized a lead series for one of...

Cellzome AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, began a research collaboration with Bayer HealthCare AG, of Leverkusen, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Cellzome AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, began a research collaboration with Bayer HealthCare AG, of Leverkusen, Germany. The agreement provides for Cellzome to use its proteomics platform to profile lead compounds from Bayer. Cellzome will...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a service agreement with Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., whereby Crucell will undertake the development of a cell line based on its PER.C6 technology for the production of a recombinant protein product candidate for Progenics.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a service agreement with Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., whereby Crucell will undertake the development of a cell line based on its PER.C6 technology for the production of a...

PPL on the block; Dolly's creator fades into history.(PPL Therapeutics PLC)(Dolly, the cloned sheep)
December 10, 2003... LONDON -- The final dismemberment of PPL Therapeutics plc began Tuesday, when the company put its laboratory and farming machinery up for auction after failing to find a buyer to take on the business in its entirety. The lots on offer...

De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said it is stopping its drug discovery activities and cutting staff from 48 to 23. Instead, it will concentrate on the commercialization of its drug discovery platforms, including SkelGen, a chemical structure...

Debiopharm SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, is looking for a new North American commercialization partner for Trelstar (triptorelin pamoate) after agreeing to reacquire the prostate cancer drug's sales and marketing rights from Pfizer Inc., of New York.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Debiopharm SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, is looking for a new North American commercialization partner for Trelstar (triptorelin pamoate) after agreeing to reacquire the prostate cancer drug's sales and marketing rights from Pfizer Inc., of...

Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, gave four pain products to aaiPharma Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Elan Corp, plc, of Dublin, Ireland, gave four pain products to aaiPharma Inc., of Wilmington, N.C. AaiPharma completed its acquisition of Roxicodone, Oramorph SR, Roxanol and Duraclon. The company, which purchased the products for $100...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, began a phase I trial of EHT 0202, its small molecule being developed as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, began a Phase I trial of EHT 0202, its small molecule being developed as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders. The privately held company said the compound has been shown to play a role in...

Gamida-Cell Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, announced preclinical results showing that the company's technology enables expanding a stem cell population with limited differentiation, without the need for animal serum. "We are now developing a serum-free...

Genedata AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Genedata AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said it extended an agreement with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The university's Supercomputing Institute for Digital Simulation and Advanced Computation extended its license for...

German Cancer Research Center.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * The German Cancer Research Center appointed Otmar Wiestler chairman. Wiestler succeeds Harald zur Hausen, who retired. The center was founded as a non-profit foundation in 1964, and hosts 760 researchers. Wiestler, a neuropathologist, for the...

Hebrew University of Jerusalem.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher Michael Wilschanski said that the method of administering antibiotic nose drops usually used for eye infections--which repaired the transmembrane conductance defect caused by a mutant, premature stop...

IDBS, of Guilford, UK, gave Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., a license to its ChemIQ and ChemXtra technologies, to provide chemical intelligence for the Agilent Synapsia Informatics Workbench, a suite of software tools designed to help scientists synthesize and share research.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * IDBS, of Guilford, UK, gave Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., a license to its ChemIQ and ChemXtra technologies, to provide chemical intelligence for the Agilent Synapsia Informatics Workbench, a suite of software tools...

Jerini AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Jerini AG, of Berlin, said its selective B2 bradykinin receptor antagonist, Icatibant, is the first in its class to demonstrate positive results in a Phase IIa study in patients with refractory ascites in liver cirrhosis. The company's chief...

The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands entered a research collaboration with Bruker Daltonics Inc., of Billerica, Mass., focused on biomarker discovery and clinical proteomics.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands entered a research collaboration with Bruker Daltonics Inc., of Billerica, Mass., focused on biomarker discovery and clinical proteomics. Building on the success of an earlier...

MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, received German regulatory authorization for its one-month prostate cancer product, Eligard 7.5 mg (leuprolide acetate for injectable suspension, known in Germany as Leuprolide).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, received German regulatory authorization for its one-month prostate cancer product, Eligard 7.5 mg (leuprolide acetate for injectable suspension, known in Germany as Leuprolide). Atrix Laboratories Inc.,...

Medivir AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, reported in vitro data indicating that 204937 (MIV-210) is effective against a range of resistant viruses.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Medivir AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, reported in vitro data indicating that 204937 (MIV-210) is effective against a range of resistant viruses. The nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor is the...

Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, and Biomira Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, reported a final analysis of Phase III data at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium related to their study of the Theratope vaccine in women with metastatic breast cancer.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, and Biomira Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, reported a final analysis of Phase III data at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium related to their study of the Theratope vaccine in women with metastatic breast...

Microscience Ltd.(Other News To Note)(U.S. Naval Medical Research Center)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Microscience Ltd., of Wokingham, UK, said it entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center for the preclinical evaluation of Microscience's oral anthrax vaccine. Microscience says oral...

Molecular Engines Laboratories SA.(Other News To Note)(TCTP)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Molecular Engines Laboratories SA, of Paris, said findings published in last week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that TCTP, a protein involved in tumor reversion and suppression, interacts with eEFIA and...

Molecular Networks GmbH, of Erlangen, Germany, and SciTegic Inc., of San Diego, said they integrated the Corina 3D molecular structure software into Pipeline Pilot, SciTegic's data pipelining software platform.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Molecular Networks GmbH, of Erlangen, Germany, and SciTegic Inc., of San Diego, said they integrated the Corina 3D molecular structure software into Pipeline Pilot, SciTegic's data pipelining software platform. The integration component will...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, started a research collaboration with Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, in which Morphochem will work to verify and optimize compounds provided by Novartis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, started a research collaboration with Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, in which Morphochem will work to verify and optimize compounds provided by Novartis. Financial terms were not disclosed. Novartis...

MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, reported in vivo Alzheimer's disease data at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans showing that systemically administered antibodies showed highly specific binding to amyloid plaques in the brains of transgenic mice.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Lid., of Basel, Switzerland, reported in vivo Alzheimer's disease data at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans showing that systemically administered antibodies showed...

MWG Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre )(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * MWG Biotech AG, of Ebersberg, Germany, entered a long-term agreement with the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork in Teagasc, Ireland, a new Science Foundation Ireland research center. MWG will supply its products and...

NeuroPharma AB, of Lund, Sweden, and Maas BioIAB LLC, of Albuquerque, N.M., reported findings at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans showing that brain mitochondria are specifically and powerfully protected by cyclosporins, through the cyclosporins' ability to block the formation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, or megapore.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * NeuroPharma AB, of Lund, Sweden, and Maas BioIAB LLC, of Albuquerque, N.M., reported findings at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans showing that brain mitochondria are specifically and powerfully protected by cyclosporins,...

Novogen Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Novogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said its Marshall Edwards Inc. subsidiary received $10.1 million from warrants exercised by its shareholders. Marshall Edwards, which is developing cancer therapeutics, is publicly listed on the London...

Phytopharm plc.(Other News To Note)(Phase I study of PYM50018)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Phytopharm plc, of Godmanchester, UK, said it was granted FDA approval for a Phase I study of PYM50018 in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most prevalent form of motor neuron disease. In an animal model of ALS,...

Riken (the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), of Tokyo, received 200,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays to for use in various large-scale genotyping projects from Third Wave Technologies Inc., of Madison, Wis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Riken (the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), of Tokyo, received 200,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays to for use in various large-scale genotyping projects from Third Wave Technologies Inc., of Madison, Wis. Since...

Scynexis Europe Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and GeneCare Research Institute Co. Ltd., of Kamakura, Japan, reported details of a new deal between the companies.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Scynexis Europe Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and GeneCare Research Institute Co. Ltd., of Kamakura, Japan, reported details of a new deal between the companies. Scynexis will provide a range of drug discovery, synthesis and purification services...

Sienabiotech SpA, of Siena, Italy, and Chemical Diversity Labs Inc., of San Diego, entered a collaboration for evaluation and screening of a focused library.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Sienabiotech SpA, of Siena, Italy, and Chemical Diversity Labs Inc., of San Diego, entered a collaboration for evaluation and screening of a focused library. Sienabiotech will use its methods and technology to screen the aspartyl...

SkyePharma plc, of London, entered an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to jointly develop a product for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.(Other News To Note)(bronchodilator QAB149)
December 10, 2003... * SkyePharma plc, of London, entered an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to jointly develop a product for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The product will combine Novartis' long-acting bronchodilator...

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Technion-Israel Institute of Technology immunology department researcher Nathan Karin, along with colleagues, discovered a new set of beneficial antibodies able to suppress the activity of the pathological self-destructive ones causing...

Tosoh Corp., of Tokyo, and Gen-Probe Inc., of San Diego, cross-licensed intellectual property covering certain nucleic acid-testing technologies.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Tosoh Corp., of Tokyo, and Gen-Probe Inc., of San Diego, cross-licensed intellectual property covering certain nucleic acid-testing technologies. The licenses, which are effective Jan. 1, cover products in clinical diagnostics and other...

Trigen Ltd.(Other News To Note)(intravenous thrombin inhibitor TGN 255)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Trigen Ltd., of London, said a Phase I trial of its intravenous thrombin inhibitor TGN 255 in the treatment and prevention of thrombosis was successful. TGN 255 produced a marked increase in clotting time, without significantly increasing the...

Wilex AG.(Other News To Note)(WX-UK1)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... * Wilex AG, of Munich, Germany, was granted patents for its antimetastatic drug candidate WX-UK1 in the U.S., Europe and Australia. The patents on the compound, which is in a Phase I/II trial, cover its therapeutic uses against tumor...

Acambis files 'first-ever' BLA: Arilvax vaccine in yellow fever.
December 17, 2003... Acambis plc filed a biologics license application seeking approval of Arilvax as a vaccine to prevent yellow fever. The company, based in Cambridge, UK, with offices in Cambridge, Mass., believes the FDA will act on its application in 12 to...

Trial to test recombinant poxvirus vaccine in malaria.
December 17, 2003... LONDON -- A clinical trial to test the safety of a new candidate vaccine to protect against malaria is expected to begin in about a year's time, following promising results in tests on mice. The vaccination protocol will involve giving...

Arpida moving Iclaprim into Phase III trial, seeking 25m [euro].
December 17, 2003... Arpida Ltd. plans to move its lead compound Iclaprim into a Phase III trial in the first half of the new year, following its successful completion of a Phase II trial involving 92 patients with complicated skin and soft-tissue infections. ...

Genmab stops HuMax-CD4 development in psoriasis.
December 17, 2003... For Lisa Drakeman, CEO of Genmab A/S, the news that HuMax-CD4 failed to demonstrate efficacy in a Phase lib trial involving 118 psoriasis patients was "not particularly" disappointing. "We had a very small investment in this trial," she...

Ingenium plans growth after third round brings in 3.8m [euro].
December 17, 2003... Ingenium AG will not be waiting until the holidays arrive to celebrate, having closed its third round of private financing, raising 13.8 [euro] million. "We drew more investment because we were able to execute everything we promised after...

4SC AG.(Others News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... * 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, began Phase I trials of SC12267, its first small-molecule candidate for rheumatoid arthritis. The compound will be examined in 56 healthy volunteers divided into seven groups to evaluate the safety,...

Aeres Biomedical Ltd., of London, and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin Calif., entered an agreement to humanized one of Peregrine's vascular targeting agent (VTA) antibodies.(Others News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Aeres Biomedical Ltd., of London, and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., entered an agreement to humanize one of Peregrine's vascular targeting agent (VTA) antibodies. Peregrine will provide the murine VTA antibody to Aeres,...

Benitec settles ddRNAi dispute, raises A$10.9m to fund growth.
December 17, 2003... SYDNEY, Australia -- Benitec Ltd. can pursue applications in its core area of a new form of gene-silencing technology, after settling a patent dispute with two Australian government organizations. The announcement by Benitec, of Brisbane,...