BioWorld International articles from December 2004

BioWorld International archives from December 2004

Finnish firm Inion conducts IPO in London, raises 33M [pounds sterling].
December 1, 2004... LONDON -- Inion Group became the first Finnish company to have an initial public offering on the main market in London, grossing 33 million [pounds sterling] (US$62.5 million) to develop its bone-generating polymer, and underlining London's...

Medivir might get 68.5M [euro] from Hepatitis C platform.
December 1, 2004... Two years ago, Medivir AB didn't have any activity in the area of hepatitis C virus protease inhibition. This week the company disclosed a licensing deal with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for a preclinical project under which it will garner a...

Germany tightening rules regarding 'green biotech'.
December 1, 2004... MUNICH, Germany -- Germany's new law regulating genetically modified plants will require farmers who plant modified crops to make that fact publicly known in a register. They also will have to take precautions to prevent the spread of modified...

14TM working with NIDA on drug abuse therapies.
December 1, 2004... LONDON -- Privately held 14TM Ltd. agreed to a collaboration with the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse to design and synthesize compounds for treating drug abuse and dependency. No financial details were disclosed, but 14TM will have full...

Biovitrum, Asinex to work on metabolic disease drugs.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Biovitrum AB entered a three-year drug discovery and development collaboration with Asinex Ltd. to find drug candidates for metabolic disease. Terms were not disclosed, but the collaboration will operate on a shared-risk basis up to...

Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, said its partner Intervet NV, of Boxmeer, the Netherlands, achieved 100 percent seroconversion to West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in horses.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, said its partner Intervet NV, of Boxmeer, the Netherlands, achieved 100 percent seroconversion to West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in horses, following vaccination with Acambis' ChimeriVax West Nile...

Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Dyax Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a cross-licensing agreement covering their respective patents in the area of antibody phage display.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Dyax Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a cross-licensing agreement covering their respective patents in the area of antibody phage display. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Affitech...

Ark Therapeutics Group plc.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Ark Therapeutics Group plc, of London, completed recruitment in its Phase II study of EG005 in lipodystrophy in HIV patients. After completing the initial 12-week blinded study, 45 of 50 subjects elected to go into a one-year, open-label...

Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, and Schering AG, of Berlin, signed a cooperation agreement in mouse genetics and genomics.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, and Schering AG, of Berlin, signed a cooperation agreement in mouse genetics and genomics. Artemis will generate various genetically engineered mouse models for Schering. Schering will use...

BioPartners GmbH, of Zug, Switzerland, filed for European approval of Valtropin (somatropin), its recombinant human growth hormone developed in collaboration with LG Life Sciences Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * BioPartners GmbH, of Zug, Switzerland, filed for European approval of Valtropin (somatropin), its recombinant human growth hormone developed in collaboration with LG Life Sciences Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea. The application is for the...

BioXell SpA.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * BioXell SpA, of Milan, Italy, commenced enrollment of patients in a Phase IIa trial of BXL628 in overactive bladder. The study, which will be coordindated by the urology division at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, will investigate the...

Boehringer Ingelheim Austria GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, and Avidia Research Institute, of Mountain View, Calif., entered a multiyear development and manufacturing agreement under which Boehringer will develop manufacturing technology for Avidia's Maxybody proteins.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Boehringer Ingelheim Austria GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, and Avidia Research Institute, of Mountain View, Calif., entered a multiyear development and manufacturing agreement under which Boehringer will develop manufacturing technology for...

Cambridge Bioscience Partnership Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, agreed to provide assay development and screening services to NeurAxon Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, for research on undisclosed targets.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Cambridge Bioscience Partnership Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, agreed to provide assay development and screening services to NeurAxon Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, for research on undisclosed targets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cellectis SA, of Romainville, France, entered an agreement to grant a worldwide, nonexclusive license to Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, to a patent family relating to a process for the specific replacement or insertion of a gene in a eukaryotic genome.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Cellectis SA, of Romainville, France, entered an agreement to grant a worldwide, nonexclusive license to Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, to a patent family relating to a process for the specific replacement or insertion of a...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Edwards Lifesciences Corp., of Irvine, Calif.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Edwards Lifesciences Corp., of Irvine, Calif. The nonexclusive agreement allows Edwards to use the PER.C6 cell line for research and development of gene...

Daiichi Suntory Pharma Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of Novato, Calif., entered a partnership for Phenoptin (sapropterin hydrochloride), an investigational oral enzyme cofactor for the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU).(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Daiichi Suntory Pharma Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of Novato, Calif., entered a partnership for Phenoptin (sapropterin hydrochloride), an investigational oral enzyme cofactor for the genetic disease phenylketonuria...

DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, formed a three-year collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, to develop and commercialize phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors for the prevention and treatment of vascular disease, including stroke.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, formed a three-year collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, to develop and commercialize phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors for the prevention and treatment of...

Eiffel Technologies Ltd.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Eiffel Technologies Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, signed a material transfer agreement with an undisclosed major international pharmaceutical company to evaluate the potential for Eiffel's drug re-engineering technology to improve the...

Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, stated on its website that the wholesale acquisition cost of Tysabri (formerly Antegren) to treat multiple sclerosis will be about $1,808 per vial.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, stated on its website that the wholesale acquisition cost of Tysabri (formerly Antegren) to treat multiple sclerosis will be about $1,808 per vial. With each patient requiring about 13 infusions a year, the...

EMD Biosciences Inc., a division of Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck KGaA, said it is adding the first in vitro-derived recombinant antibody to its catalogue of research reagents.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * EMD Biosciences Inc., a division of Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck KGaA, said it is adding the first in vitro-derived recombinant antibody to its catalogue of research reagents. The antibody is targeted against human cyclophilin A and is...

Eurogentec SA, of Liege, Belgium, signed a license with SuperArray Bioscience Corp., of Frederick, Md., allowing it to use SuperArray's cDNA GEArray-focused DNA microarray platform for product development.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Eurogentec SA, of Liege, Belgium, signed a license with SuperArray Bioscience Corp., of Frederick, Md., allowing it to use SuperArray's cDNA GEArray-focused DNA microarray platform for product development. Eurogentec can purchase cDNA...

Gamidor Diagnostics, of Petach Tikva, Israel, a distributor of clinical diagnostics in Israel, and Tm Bioscience Corp., of Toronto, signed a distribution agreement.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Gamidor Diagnostics, of Petach Tikva, Israel, a distributor of clinical diagnostics in Israel, and Tm Bioscience Corp., of Toronto, signed a distribution agreement. Gamidor will have exclusive rights to distribute the Tag-It menu of genetic...

GeneMedix plc.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * GeneMedix plc, of Newmarket, UK, was granted a U.S. patent for monomeric analogues of human insulin discovered by its partner, the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in China. The company intends to develop the compound to...

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA.(Other News to Note)(Bioinformatics Institute for Global Good)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA, of Geneva, entered a distribution agreement with the Bioinformatics Institute for Global Good, of Tokyo. The partnership combines Phenyx, GeneBio's protein-identification software platform, with the...

Golden Hand Resources Inc.(Other News to Note)(BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Golden Hand Resources Inc., of Tel Aviv, Israel, changed its name to BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. to better communicate its focus as a cell-therapy firm. Specifically, the company is developing NurOwn cell-therapy products sourced from...

IP2IPO Group plc.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * IP2IPO Group plc, of London, launched a new 20 million [pounds sterling] (US$37.9 million) venture capital trust, UniVen VCT, to specialize in financing university spinout companies. UniVen will be managed by Top Technology Ventures Ltd., a...

Medical Marketing International (MMI), of Oxford, UK, said it signed a contract with start-up Cambridge Theranostics Ltd. (CTL), of Cambridge, UK, to use MMI's bioincubator LabHotel.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Medical Marketing International (MMI), of Oxford, UK, said it signed a contract with start-up Cambridge Theranostics Ltd. (CTL), of Cambridge, UK, to use MMI's bioincubator LabHotel. CTL used LabHotel on a test basis for seven months in 2003....

Micromet AG.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Micromet AG, of Munich, Germany, said the FDA will allow MT201, an antibody targeting the Ep-CAM antigen, to begin a Phase II trial in metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. Micromet added that the antibody's target is over-expressed in a range...

NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, reported data on a partnered product as part of a presentation on central nervous system diseases.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, reported data on a partnered product as part of a presentation on central nervous system diseases. The product, labeled NS2359 by NeuroSearch and GSK372475 by GSK, is...

PharmaMar SA.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * PharmaMar SA, of Madrid, Spain, moved Aplidin into Phase II trials in hematological malignancies such as multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (both aggressive and indolent) and adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The product already is in...

Pharming Group NV.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, placed 3 million new shares with professional long-term investors for gross proceeds of 6 million [euro]. The proceeds will be used to accelerate development of Pharming's recombinant human...

PhotoCure ASA.(Other News to Note)(Kjetil Hestdal )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * PhotoCure ASA, of Oslo, Norway, named Kjetil Hestdal president and CEO. Hestdal, currently chief operating officer, will succeed Vidar Hansson on Jan. 1. Hansson is retiring after eight years at PhotoCure.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, reported that the American Stock Exchange approved Sinovac's application for listing its common stock. That approval is contingent upon the company being in compliance with all applicable listing standards on...

Swiss voters.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Swiss voters endorsed government proposals to permit human embryonic stem cell research using embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures. In a referendum, a 66.4 percent majority backed the government's legislation. Therapeutic...

Symphogen A/S.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Symphogen A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, will present its Symplex technology at the IBC Antibody Engineering Conference in San Diego on Dec. 2. The technology enables the isolation of naturally occurring antibodies from plasma cells obtained...

Trigen Ltd., of London, and Eurand International SpA, of Milan, Italy, entered a collaboration to develop controlled-release formulations of Trigen's clinical-stage oral anticoagulant, TGN 167.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Trigen Ltd., of London, and Eurand International SpA, of Milan, Italy, entered a collaboration to develop controlled-release formulations of Trigen's clinical-stage oral anticoagulant, TGN 167. Eurand is bringing its delivery and formulation...

Vernalis plc.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Vernalis plc, of Reading, UK, started recruitment in a confirmatory Phase III study of Frova (frovatriptan) in treating menstrually related migraine. Coupled with an ongoing safety study, the study should lead to a submission to the FDA in...

Zilip-Pharma, of the Netherlands, and the biological products division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., signed an exclusive, global technology license for the development and commercialization of a new, longer-acting version of Kogenate.(Other News to Note)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Zilip-Pharma, of the Netherlands, and the biological products division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., signed an exclusive, global technology license for the development and commercialization of a new, longer-acting...

PhotoCure shares slide as FDA says no to Metvix PDT.(photodynamic therapy)
December 8, 2004... PhotoCure ASA's efforts to obtain U.S. approval for its Metvix photodynamic therapy as a treatment for basal-cell carcinoma hit another roadblock last week, as FDA officials ruled that the clinical data submitted in its new drug application...

UK regulators: GW's cannabis product not 'clinically relevant'.(GW Pharmaceuticals, Sativex)
December 8, 2004... LONDON -- GW Pharmaceuticals Ltd. hit a regulatory roadblock in its attempts to register its cannabis derivative, Sativex, in spasticity in multiple sclerosis. The company has produced statistically significant Phase III data showing...

Knockout parasite can trigger protective immunity to malaria.(research)
December 8, 2004... LONDON -- A vaccine to protect humans against malaria using live, genetically modified parasites might one day be possible, a study carried out in rodents suggests. Deletion of a single gene from the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei...

Another crack shows up in EU logjam over GMOs.
December 8, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The unofficial European Union moratorium on new GMO products gradually is being eroded. Within some three months, another five products are likely to overcome the bans that five national governments have placed on them. ...

Purely proteins raises $3.6m, signs deal with Asahi-Kasei.(Asahi Kasei Corp., Purely Proteins Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... LONDON -- Purely Proteins Ltd. completed a second-round funding of $3.6 million, enabling it to expand its ultra-purified human proteins, both as targets and therapeutics. At the same time, the Cambridge, UK-based company announced a...

Active Biotech AB.(Other News To Note)(TTS CD3)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, gained FDA fast-track status for TTS CD3, which is in a Phase I trial in non-small-cell lung carcinoma. The company also received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent Office regarding an application...

AEterna Zentaris Inc.(Other News To Note)(Impavido)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * AEterna Zentaris Inc., of Quebec, received German approval for Impavido (miltefosine), an orally administered therapy for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis. The approval allows the company to market it in Germany, as well as to distribute...

Allergy Therapeutics plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Allergy Therapeutics plc, of Worthing, UK, was granted a UK patent for its family of sublingual allergy vaccines that use monophosphoryl lipid A as an adjuvant. The patent covers all antigens, and could cover mucosally transmitted infections,...

Altana AG.(Other News To Note)(Altana Industrie-Aktien und Anlagen AG)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, filed a suit at the Social Court in Berlin against the central association of German statutory health insurance companies with reference to their classification of Pantozol (pantoprazole) as part of a...

Ark Therapeutics Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Ark Therapeutics Group plc, of London, received Good Manufacturing Practice approval for its facility in Kuopio, Finland. Approval also was given for Ark to manufacture its adenovirus viral vector product, Cerepro, which is in Phase III...

BioLineRx Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * BioLineRx Ltd., of Jerusalem, said the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist selected the company as the sole recipient of a $21 million grant for the development of preclinical compounds, as part of an initiative for the advancement of the...

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of Novato, Calif., filed for European approval of Aryplase (galsulfase), an investigational enzyme-replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis-VI. The company, which last week filed for FDA approval, said the...

BioVision AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * BioVision AG, of Hannover, Germany, said CEO Sven Rohmann founded a new company, ImVision GmbH, to develop therapies to cure allergic diseases. ImVision will be an independent company and its lead compound will target cat allergy. Trials are...

Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said Chiron submitted a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency for approval of Cubicin (daptomycin for injection) in complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTI) in which the presence of susceptible Gram-positive bacteria is confirmed or suspected.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said Chiron submitted a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency for approval of Cubicin (daptomycin for injection) in...

Cyclacel Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Cyclacel Group plc, of Dundee, UK, presented a series of small-molecule, cell-cycle drugs inhibiting Aurora kinase in a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research Cell Cycle and Cancer: Pathways and Therapies...

Cytos Biotechnology AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, began a Phase II trial of its Immunodrug candidate CYT005-AllQbG10. The open-label study will include 20 patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma due to house dust mite allergy. The...

Elan Corp. plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Elan International Services Ltd., accepted for payment a total of about $351 million worth of Series B and C guaranteed notes issued by another wholly owned subsidiary, Elan...

Epigenomics AG, of Frankfurt, Germany, and Roche Diagnostics, a unit of Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd., agreed to amend their ongoing collaboration with an expanded validation process.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Epigenomics AG, of Frankfurt, Germany, and Roche Diagnostics, a unit of Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd., agreed to amend their ongoing collaboration with an expanded validation process. The original agreement included...

Genmab A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported encouraging efficacy data from a Phase I/II trial of HuMax-EGFr in head and neck cancer. Using a scan known as FDG-PET, which visualizes tumor metabolism, six of 15 patients showed partial...

German government.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * The German government put forward its position on the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7), calling for special emphasis on life sciences and biotechnology. FP7 is the EU's general outline for research for 2007-2013. The biotech...

National Genome Research Network.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Germany's National Genome Research Network will concentrate on fighting widespread diseases. Minister for Education and Research Edelgard Bulmahn presented 182 research projects that the ministry will support over the next three years with...

Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, of Okayama, Japan, and Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, entered a license and supply agreement for oral interferon-alpha.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, of Okayama, Japan, and Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, entered a license and supply agreement for oral interferon-alpha. In the last 20 years, Amarillo has invested nearly $37 million to...

Iceland Genomics Corp., of Reykjavik, Iceland, entered an agreement in which Aclara BioSciences Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., will use its eTag assays to analyze tumor samples from cancer patients to validate candidate biomarkers.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Iceland Genomics Corp., of Reykjavik, Iceland, entered an agreement in which Aclara BioSciences Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., will use its eTag assays to analyze tumor samples from cancer patients to validate candidate biomarkers. IGC will...

Inpharmatica Ltd., of London, signed a nonexclusive Biopendium Online subscription with Shionogi & Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Inpharmatica Ltd., of London, signed a nonexclusive Biopendium Online subscription with Shionogi & Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan. Biopendium is the protein annotation component of PharmaCarta, Inpharmatica's gene-to-candidate platform. It...

Nautilus Biotech, of Paris, and Angel Biotechnology, of Northumberland, UK, signed an agreement on the GMP manufacture of Nautilus' interferon-alpha product, Belerofon, for Phase I development.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Nautilus Biotech, of Paris, and Angel Biotechnology, of Northumberland, UK, signed an agreement on the GMP manufacture of Nautilus' interferon-alpha product, Belerofon, for Phase I development. The non-pegylated, single-amino-acid variant of...

NeuroNova AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * NeuroNova AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, named Ulf Ljunberg president and CEO. Ljunberg succeeds Anders Haegerstrand, who became chief scientific officer and vice president. Ljunberg's most recent position was vice president of sales and marketing...

NeuTec Pharma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * NeuTec Pharma plc, of Manchester, UK, signed a contract for commercial-scale manufacturing of its lead product Mycograb, which is in Phase III trials in the treatment of invasive candidiasis.

Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, of Milan, Italy, raised European funding from the Cooperative Research Programme to innovate a drug-screening technology by the company and a consortium of small to medium enterprises and academic groups. Newron...

Novacea Inc., of South San Francisco, presented preclinical data on AQ4N in treating lymphoma, at the American Society for Hematology meeting in San Diego.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Novacea Inc., of South San Francisco, presented preclinical data on AQ4N in treating lymphoma, at the American Society for Hematology meeting in San Diego. AQ4N, licensed from KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, of Cambridge, UK, is inactive until it...

Pharmaxis Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Pharmaxis Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA to conduct a trial to support a marketing application for Aridol. The trial would be conducted at more than 10 sites in the U.S. and would...

Prolysis Ltd., of Oxford, UK, announced a drug discovery agreement with Proteom Ltd., of Cambridge, UK.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Prolysis Ltd., of Oxford, UK, announced a drug discovery agreement with Proteom Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, in which Proteom will use its in silico design technology to optimize antibiotic leads discovered by Prolysis.

ProStrakan Group Ltd., of Galashiels, UK, acquired Elfar SA, a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company, based in Madrid, Spain, for an undisclosed cash sum.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * ProStrakan Group Ltd., of Galashiels, UK, acquired Elfar SA, a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company, based in Madrid, Spain, for an undisclosed cash sum. Two months earlier, the company made another acquisition in Spain, Devon...

Proteo Inc., a unit of Kiel, Germany-based Proteo Biotech AG, signed an exclusive license collaboration with Artes Biotechnology GmbH, of Dusseldorf, Germany, to produce Elafin on a recombinant basis with the yeast strain, Hansenula polymorpha.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Proteo Inc., a unit of Kiel, Germany-based Proteo Biotech AG, signed an exclusive license collaboration with Artes Biotechnology GmbH, of Dusseldorf, Germany, to produce Elafin on a recombinant basis with the yeast strain, Hansenula...

Sareum Holdings plc, of Cambridge, UK, announced a collaboration with EiRx Therapeutics plc, of Cork, Ireland, to discover new cancer therapeutics.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Sareum Holdings plc, of Cambridge, UK, announced a collaboration with EiRx Therapeutics plc, of Cork, Ireland, to discover new cancer therapeutics. EiRx will provide five novel targets that are involved in apoptosis and cancer-cell survival,...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said Phase I results showed that its inactivated vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome showed no obvious side effects and induced the production of SARS-neutralizing antibodies. The findings were...

Tissera Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Tissera Inc., of Herzlia, Israel, said its sponsored research team at the Weizmann Institute of Science defined a specific gestational time window for harvesting porcine fetal pancreatic tissue for transplantation purposes. The window of...

Transgene SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, said it is conducting a new Phase II trial of its MVA-HPV-IL2 vaccine candidate in women diagnosed with precancerous lesions of the cervix, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia--CIN 2/3, related to Type 16...

UK government.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... * The UK government announced new measures to support science-based companies, including an extension of current R&D credits to take in larger companies and changes to income tax to remove barriers that have discouraged academics from setting...

MediGene's Phase III drug effective in genital warts.
December 15, 2004... MUNICH, Germany -- MediGene AG completed its second Phase III trial of Polyphenon E, a treatment for genital warts, getting significant clinical effects compared to placebo, as well as good tolerability. The trial involved 500 patients and...

Chroma raises 5M [pounds sterling] more to add to second round.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... LONDON -- Chroma Therapeutics Ltd. raised 5 million [pounds sterling] (US$9.6 million) from a U.S. investor to add to its 10 million [pounds sterling] second round completed in May, allowing the chromatin biology specialist to increase its burn...

New antibiotic class might thrash drug-resistant TB.
December 15, 2004... LONDON -- The treatment of tuberculosis could be revolutionized by the discovery of a new antibiotic that belongs to a completely novel class of drugs. The compound, R207910, worked in laboratory tests even against multidrug-resistant...

European report: new biotech products should rise in future.(EU Roundup)
December 15, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Concerns are exaggerated about the decline in applications and authorizations of new medicines, according to a new European study of the pharmaceutical sector, which finds that new technologies such as gene therapy are...

Pepscan enters vaccine deal aimed at cytokine with Cytos.
December 15, 2004... Pepscan Systems BV and Cytos Biotechnology AG entered a research and license option agreement in which the companies will combine their expertise in epitope mapping and immune response induction in the development of a therapeutic vaccine...

Active Biotech.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... * Active Biotech, of Lund, Sweden, initiated a Phase I dose-escalation study of TASQ for prostate cancer. The four-week tolerance study could be extended up to one year to assess long-term tolerability and safety. The study includes patients...

Altana AG.(Other News To Note)
December 15, 2004... * Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said the 90-day phase of the European mutual recognition procedure is complete, and the company may market Alvesco (ciclesonide) in various European markets in 2005 to treat persistent asthma. Altana...

Aureus Pharma, of Paris, entered an agreement to establish Infocom Corp., of Tokyo, as the exclusive distributor of Aureus' products in Japan.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... * Aureus Pharma, of Paris, entered an agreement to establish Infocom Corp., of Tokyo, as the exclusive distributor of Aureus' products in Japan. Infocom will distribute Aureus' AurScope databases, AurScope GPCR, ADME/Drug-Drug Interactions and...