BioWorld International articles from February 2004

BioWorld International archives from February 2004

Cyclacel's fourth round gets $39M for cell cycle inhibitors.
February 4, 2004... LONDON -- Cyclacel Ltd. raised 21.3 million [pounds sterling] (US$39 million) in an oversubscribed fourth round of private funding, bringing its total private equity raised to date to $123 million. Paul McBarron, Cyclacel's chief financial...

Acambis moving R&D core to U.S., cutting work force by 40.
February 4, 2004... LONDON -- Acambis plc is moving its Cambridge, UK, research and development activities to the U.S. and cutting 40 positions, following a strategic review in which it decided to drop three development programs. The decision will leave the...

Predatory bacterium could hold key to antibiotic treasure trove.
February 4, 2004... LONDON -- A bacterium that preys on other bacteria, swimming at high speeds after bacterial cells before attaching itself to their membranes and invading them, could prove to be the source of numerous new antimicrobial substances. ...

With GLP-2 in osteoporosis focus, Sanos raises $10M.
February 4, 2004... Sanos Bioscience A/S, a company spun out at the beginning of the year by Nordic Bioscience A/S, raised $10 million to fund further clinical development of glucagons-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) as a treatment for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women....

PharmaMar cutting staff to conserve cash for Yondelis.
February 4, 2004... PharmaMar SA, the drug discovery and development arm of Spanish chemicals group Zeltia SA, eliminated 45 positions and cut its spending forecasts in order to conserve 100 million [euro] in cash, following the failure last year to get its lead...

Alizyme plc, of Cambridge, UK, said Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., exercised its rights to ATL-962 for the treatment of obesity and related diseases in Japan.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Alizyme plc, of Cambridge, UK, said Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., exercised its rights to ATL-962 for the treatment of obesity and related diseases in Japan. The move triggered a $3 million milestone payment to Alizyme, adding to the $2...

Antisense Therapeutics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Antisense Therapeutics Ltd., of Victoria, Australia, said Phase I data of ATL 1 102, the company's antisense drug for multiple sclerosis, were favorable for both safety and pharmacokinetics. The company plans to begin a Phase IIa trial,...

ExonHit raises additional 8.3M [euro]; now has cash to last into 2006.
February 4, 2004... PARIS -- ExonHit Therapeutics SA completed a financing entailing the issue of 8.3 million [euro] in convertible bonds to existing shareholders and their affiliates, saying the funds would be sufficient to finance its operations into 2006. ...

Argenta Discovery Ltd., of Royston, UK, and TTP LabTech, of Cambridge, UK, entered an agreement to expand Argenta's biology and eADMET capabilities through the incorporation of TTP LabTech's Acumen Explorer screening platform.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Argenta Discovery Ltd., of Royston, UK, and TTP LabTech, of Cambridge, UK, entered an agreement to expand Argenta's biology and eADMET capabilities through the incorporation of TTP LabTech's Acumen Explorer screening platform. Argenta and TTP...

AstraZeneca plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * AstraZeneca plc, of London, said Iressa (gefitinib) was recommended for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer after failure of both platinum-based and docetaxel chemotherapies, according to...

Cenix BioScience GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Cenix BioScience GmbH, of Dresden, Germany, appointed Zisi Fotev chief business officer. Fotev previously worked as vice president of business development at Atugen AG, in Berlin. Cenix, founded in 1999, specializes in genome-based...

Co.don AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Co.don AG, of Berlin, reported positive results from a study in horse models with the company's chondrotransplant product. The study describes the long-term effectiveness of autologous cartilage transplants in treating damaged cartilage. The...

Cognitive Drug Research Ltd.'s, of Reading, UK, Computerized Cognitive Function Assessment System was selected by Cephalon Inc., of West Chester, Pa., for inclusion in four Phase III trials of the R-isomer of modafinil.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Cognitive Drug Research Ltd.'s, of Reading, UK, Computerized Cognitive Function Assessment System was selected by Cephalon Inc., of West Chester, Pa., for inclusion in four Phase III trials of the R-isomer of modafinil. The system is being...

Another European request for lifting GMO moratorium.(European Union Roundup)
February 4, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's top official admitted Jan. 28 that it was time to lift the unofficial European moratorium on new genetically modified products. European Commission President Romano Prodi said the EU now had an...

Dissent with partner spurs cutbacks at Micromet AG.
February 4, 2004... MUNICH, Germany -- An Italian-American merger has had repercussions in Germany, as a contract dispute between the merged company and Micromet AG, of Munich, has led the German firm to realign operations and make plans to reduce its staff by...

CordLife Pte Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Cell Sciences Pte Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * CordLife Pte Ltd., of Singapore, established a subsidiary called Cell Sciences Pte Ltd. for the manufacturing, supply-chain management, worldwide sales and marketing of CordLife's line of biotechnology and cellular-growth devices. The...

Cyprotex plc, of Macclesfield, UK, agreed to a three-year deal with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, to provide in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion studies of Roche discovery stage compounds.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Cyprotex plc, of Macclesfield, UK, agreed to a three-year deal with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, to provide in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion studies of Roche discovery stage compounds. It is the...

Faust Pharmaceuticals.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Faust Pharmaceuticals, of Strasbourg, France, initiated a Phase I trial of FP001 1 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The drug acts by reducing the presynaptic release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that causes neuron cell death at high...

Jerini AG, of Berlin, and Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, formed a collaboration to jointly develop small-molecule inhibitors against an undisclosed cancer target.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Jerini AG, of Berlin, and Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, formed a collaboration to jointly develop small-molecule inhibitors against an undisclosed cancer target. Prior to the agreement, Jerini identified small-molecule leads, which the...

Lonza Group Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, entered a collaboration to gain access to a transient expression system for therapeutic proteins from Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Lonza Group Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, entered a collaboration to gain access to a transient expression system for therapeutic proteins from Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland. Lonza received a sole license to manufacture...

ML Laboratories plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * ML Laboratories plc, of Warrington, UK, launched an emergency fund raising to bring in 14.3 million [pounds sterling] (US$26 million) after expected milestone payments failed to arrive. Executive Chairman Stuart Sim said the company decided...

MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said GPC Biotech AG, also of Martinsried, extended its exclusive license for HuCAL antibodies directed against an MHC Class II target molecule.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said GPC Biotech AG, also of Martinsried, extended its exclusive license for HuCAL antibodies directed against an MHC Class II target molecule. The collaboration began in 1999 with a goal to develop a...

MWG Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * MWG Biotech AG, of Ebersberg, Germany, introduced a free, web-based siRNA design tool. A special feature of the new bioinformatics service is a built-in Blast function that allows customers to design specific siRNA oligonucleotides to silence...

NeuTec Pharma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * NeuTec Pharma plc, of Manchester, UK, completed recruitment in its Phase II trial of Mycograb for the treatment of acute candidiasis infections. Results of the study, involving 1 60 patients at 38 centers in Europe and the U.S., are expected...

NicOx SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, said that following a review of results from the full Phase II programs of AZD3582, the lead compound in the Cinod class, an independent U.S. clinical consultant advisory board recommended further...

Paris Biotech, the incubator of the University of Paris V, and Pasteur BioTop, the biotechnology incubator of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, signed an agreement aimed at making Paris the focal point of business creation in France for start-ups engaged in human health applications of biotechnology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Paris Biotech, the incubator of the University of Paris V, and Pasteur BioTop, the biotechnology incubator of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, signed an agreement aimed at making Paris the focal point of business creation in France for...

PPL Therapeutics plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, UK, agreed to sell its two farms in Scotland for 900,000 [pounds sterling] (US$1.64 million), as it continues to wind down the company. PPL has been selling off parts of its business and facilities, having...

Produtos Roche QFSA in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Zentaris GmbH, of Frankfurt, Germany, a subsidiary of AEterna Laboratories Inc., of Quebec City, Quebec, entered an agreement for the marketing in Brazil of Impavido (miltefosine), an oral therapy for leishmaniasis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Produtos Roche QFSA in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Zentaris GmbH, of Frankfurt, Germany, a subsidiary of AEterna Laboratories Inc., of Quebec City, Quebec, entered an agreement for the marketing in Brazil of Impavido (miltefosine), an oral therapy...

RNAx GmbH, of Berlin, an affiliate of Ribopharma AG, was granted a nonexclusive license from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to provide research services under a fundamental patent in RNA interference.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * RNAx GmbH, of Berlin, an affiliate of Ribopharma AG, was granted a nonexclusive license from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to provide research services under a fundamental patent in RNA interference. The licensed patent...

Serono SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Serono SA, of Geneva, reported a 31.3 percent jump in revenues to just over $2 billion in 2003, while net income rose 21.6 percent to $390 million. Its North American sales soared by 44.8 percent to $694.5 million, while European sales were...

TTP LabTech Ltd., of Royston, UK, entered a collaborative research and marketing agreement with BD Biosciences Clontech, of San Jose, Calif.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * TTP LabTech Ltd., of Royston, UK, entered a collaborative research and marketing agreement with BD Biosciences Clontech, of San Jose, Calif. BD Biosciences will provide nonexclusive access to a selection of its Novel Fluorescent Proteins for...

Vivascience AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2004... * Vivascience AG, of Hannover, Germany, said findings published in Proteome Science point to a new method for sample fractionation prior to 2D-Page, showing that its Vivapure prefractionation protocol leads to the detection of three times as...

Ark seeks listing on London Stock Exchange via 50 [pounds sterling] IPO.(Ark Therapeutics Group PLC)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... LONDON -- Ark Therapeutics Group plc is feeling out investor appetite for what would be the first listing of a biotechnology company on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in three years. The London-based company is looking to...

CAT reports CAT-192 results with Genzyme, ends Elan deal.(Cambridge Antibody Technology Group PLC)
February 11, 2004... LONDON -- Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc and partner Genzyme Corp. announced preliminary results from a Phase I/II trial of CAT-192 in the treatment of scleroderma, showing the anti-TGF beta-1 antibody was safe and well tolerated, but...

Structure of 1918 flu virus holds clue to its virulence.
February 11, 2004... LONDON -- The mystery of how the influenza virus that killed around 20 million people worldwide in 1918 was able to wreak such havoc has been solved by a joint team of scientists working in the UK and the U.S. Their study shows how one of...

Hurdles for Europe include tissue engineering, patents.(European Union Roundup)
February 11, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The coming year is threatening further drama for the European biotech medicines industry, said the Emerging Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE) group--the specialist association within the European Federation of...

Advancements in SiRNA spur strategy change for Atugen.(small interfering RNA)
February 11, 2004... MUNICH, Germany -- Atugen AG is adding drug development to its research program in target discovery and its business in target validation. The change signals both growing maturity in the technology of small interfering RNA (siRNA) and...

BiondVax raises $4M for multiseason nasal vaccine.(BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd.)
February 11, 2004... ZICHRON YA'AKOV, Israel -- Israeli start-up BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has opened its first financing round, raising $4 million for an intranasal flu vaccine that would be effective over several years against all flu strains tested thus far,...

Adprotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Adprotech Ltd., of Oxford, UK, published the complete 3-dimensional structure of human decay-accelerating factor (DAF), an innate protein that inhibits part of the immune response. The company says it could be a target in autoimmune diseases,...

Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany, and Pharmacopeia Inc., of Princeton, N.J., entered a research collaboration, under which both parties will work together to identify and optimize small-molecule lead compounds in an undisclosed indication.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany, and Pharmacopeia Inc., of Princeton, N.J., entered a research collaboration, under which both parties will work together to identify and optimize small-molecule lead compounds in an undisclosed...

Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, entered an agreement to provide genetically engineered mice to Aventis Pharma R&D, of Strasbourg, France.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, entered an agreement to provide genetically engineered mice to Aventis Pharma R&D, of Strasbourg, France. Aventis will use the mice, which are derived from Artemis' ArteMice platform, to...

Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd., of Petach-Tikvah, Israel, appointed Ashleigh Palmer chief business officer in charge of U.S. corporate development. Can-Fite develops treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company is engaged in two...

Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, is anticipating that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., also of Jerusalem, will increase its $3 million investment to $60 million when Gamida-Cell's product StemEx reaches Phase II trials, said Mordechai Zisser during a press conference.(Other News To Note)
February 11, 2004... * Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, is anticipating that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., also of Jerusalem, will increase its $3 million investment to $60 million when Gamida-Cell's product StemEx reaches Phase II trials, said Mordechai...

GeneProt Inc., of Geneva, amended its scientific collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to perform large-scale proteomic studies for different therapeutic areas.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * GeneProt Inc., of Geneva, amended its scientific collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to perform large-scale proteomic studies for different therapeutic areas. Under the new agreement, GeneProt will continue to use...

GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, expanded its multinational Phase III registration trial of satraplatin to include Europe after receiving guidance from European regulatory authorities.(Other News To Note)(Satraplatin and Prednisone Against Refractory Cancer)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, expanded its multinational Phase III registration trial of satraplatin to include Europe after receiving guidance from European regulatory authorities. The company is proceeding with the SPARC...

Iceland Genomics Corp.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Iceland Genomics Corp., of Reykjavik, Iceland, named Dana Hosseini its president and CEO. Prior to his appointment, he served as the vice president of business development for Cyntellect Inc., of San Diego, and the director of business...

Kamada Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., signed an international distribution agreement for the hepatitis B drug Nabi-HB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Kamada Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., signed an international distribution agreement for the hepatitis B drug Nabi-HB. Kamada will purchase finished Nabi-HB and will coordinate the regulatory...

ML Laboratories, of Warrington, UK, announced the disposal of its pharmaceutical and biotechnology training business, Healthcare Education Services (HES) Ltd., to Bridgehead Pharmalicensing Group (BPG), of Melton Mowbray, UK, a privately held company.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * ML Laboratories, of Warrington, UK, announced the disposal of its pharmaceutical and biotechnology training business, Healthcare Education Services (HES) Ltd., to Bridgehead Pharmalicensing Group (BPG), of Melton Mowbray, UK, a privately held...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, started a multitarget collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, started a multitarget collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany. Boehringer Ingelheim has provided several human targets for Morphochem to apply to its MOREsystem technology....

MorphoSys AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, formed a new business unit, Antibodies by Design, to market HuCAL antibodies in nontherapeutic applications. Products and services offered by the division primarily will target industrial and academic...

NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, received a payment of $5 million from Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, regarding the development of the drug candidate NS2330 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, received a payment of $5 million from Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, regarding the development of the drug candidate NS2330 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and...

Novogen Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Novogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, subsidiary Marshall Edwards Inc. said early data regarding its ovarian cancer drug phenoxodiol shows it acts as a cancer agent and a chemo-sensitizing agent that restores responsiveness to ovarian cancer...

OctoPlus Technologies BV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * OctoPlus Technologies BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said controlled release of recombinant human growth hormone from OctoDEX microspheres can be achieved over two weeks while maintaining functional activity of the protein. The technology is...

Oxford BioMedica, of Oxford, UK, signed a license for its LentiVector gene delivery system with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, NJ.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Oxford BioMedica, of Oxford, UK, signed a license for its LentiVector gene delivery system with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, NJ. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Oxford BioMedica will receive an up-front payment and an...

Paion GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, reported positive results at the 29th International Stroke Conference from its Phase II trial of desmoteplase. The company cited three significant findings in their study. First, the compound promotes...

Proteome Sciences plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, was awarded a government grant of 419,000 [pounds sterling] (US$778,625) for a research program to identify biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease, both to improve early detection and as new targets for...

Protherics plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Protherics plc, of Runcorn, UK, filed a UK patent on the use of its Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy diagnostic technology in humans. The technology is currently being evaluated by third parties for screening blood and donated organs...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said it would begin clinical testing of a vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome after receiving Chinese regulatory approval to move forward with such plans. The trial's first phase, which will last...

SkyePharma plc, of London, and Mundipharma International Holdings Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, launched DepoCyte, a treatment for lymphomatous meningitis, in Europe.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * SkyePharma plc, of London, and Mundipharma International Holdings Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, launched DepoCyte, a treatment for lymphomatous meningitis, in Europe. DepoCyte, marketed as DepoCyt in the U.S., is a sustained-release, injectable...

Transgene SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, announced encouraging Phase II data from its MVA-Muc1-IL2 cancer vaccine in lung, prostate and kidney cancers. The trials are evaluating the drug in combination with chemotherapy for lung cancer, at...

The Wellcome Trust in London and NitroMed Inc., of Bedford, Mass., reported that NitroMed signed a licensing and commercialization agreement with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, to develop nitric oxide-based medicines for the treatment of acute renal failure.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * The Wellcome Trust in London and NitroMed Inc., of Bedford, Mass., reported that NitroMed signed a licensing and commercialization agreement with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, to...

Xigen SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Auris Medical AG, of Lohn, Switzerland, entered an agreement for the development of therapies for ear disorders.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2004... * Xigen SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Auris Medical AG, of Lohn, Switzerland, entered an agreement for the development of therapies for ear disorders. Auris Medical obtained a worldwide exclusive license to use Xigen's intracellular...

Ark to test London's IPO waters with 55M [pounds sterling] offering.
February 18, 2004... LONDON -- Ark Therapeutics Group Ltd. has confirmed plans for an initial public offering to raise 55 million [pounds sterling] (US$104.7 million), a move that will be followed closely by those at cash-starved companies across Europe who are...

GeneMedix considers merger, plans U.S. listing on Nasdaq.(National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (system))(biogenerics development )
February 18, 2004... LONDON -- GeneMedix plc is to list on Nasdaq, giving it access to U.S. capital markets as it draws up plans to expand its biogenerics development and manufacturing capabilities into the U.S. The company also confirmed it is in merger talks...

Yeast study shows how dividing cells get correct chromosomes.
February 18, 2004... LONDON -- Dividing cells appear to play a tug-of-war game over the pool of chromosomes they need to share, new research suggests. The discovery could help scientists understand what goes wrong when that cellular battle fails to be settled...

EU invests 9m [euro] in consortium focused on genomic projects.(MolTools)
February 18, 2004... Uppsala University in Sweden is coordinating a 9 million [euro] project, funded under the European Union's 6th Framework Program, which aims to develop new tools and techniques for large-scale analysis of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes....

Acambis plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, reported a change in the ratio of its American depository receipts, which are traded on Nasdaq. Since listing on Nasdaq in February 2001, Acambis' ADR price has risen from about $18 to around $60. In order to...

Acrux Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Acrux Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., reported the execution of exclusive licensing agreements under which Vivus will develop and commercialize Testosterone MDTS and Estradiol MDTS in the U.S. for...

Affitech AS.(Other News To Note)(National Functional Genomics program )(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Affitech AS and the Norwegian Radium Hospital, both of Oslo, Norway, received a grant of NOK6.2 million (US$905,000) from Norway's National Functional Genomics program (FUGE) to continue their research on the development of new cancer...

Antisoma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Antisoma plc, of London, was awarded a patent covering the combination of AS1404, a vascular-targeting agent, with drugs of the taxane class. The product is in its third Phase I study, and Antisoma will evaluate the compound in various drug...

Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, said that Wyeth, of Madison, N.J., exercised an option to license CAT's antibody phage display libraries for in-house use. The libraries will support Wyeth's activities in therapeutic...

Cancer Research UK.(Other News To Note)(hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Cancer Research UK, of London, was awarded a European patent on the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2, and said it will make the patent freely available to public laboratories in Europe. That mirrors its action in the UK, where it already...

Cellectis SA, of Paris, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, NY, signed a licensing agreement granting the U.S. company a nonexclusive worldwide license to use Cellectis' homologous recombination technology for the specific replacement or insertion of a gene in the mouse genome.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Cellectis SA, of Paris, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, NY, signed a licensing agreement granting the U.S. company a nonexclusive worldwide license to use Cellectis' homologous recombination technology for the specific...

Chiron Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., was granted an injunction at the High Court in London protecting its UK employees and premises from harassment and protests by animal rights activists.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Chiron Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., was granted an injunction at the High Court in London protecting its UK employees and premises from harassment and protests by animal rights activists. The order creates exclusion zones around the company's...

Defiante Farmaceutica LDA, a subsidiary of Sigma-Tau Group, of Rome, and BioDelivery Sciences International Inc., of Newark, N.J., entered exclusive negotiations.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Defiante Farmaceutica LDA, a subsidiary of Sigma-Tau Group, of Rome, and BioDelivery Sciences International Inc., of Newark, N.J., entered exclusive negotiations. The parties intend for Defiante to incorporate BioDelivery's Biroal drug...

Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, completed the sale of its European sales and marketing business to Medeus Pharma Ltd., a new UK pharmaceutical company backed by Apax Partners Fund.(Other News To Note)(Medeus Pharma Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, completed the sale of its European sales and marketing business to Medeus Pharma Ltd., a new UK pharmaceutical company backed by Apax Partners Fund. Elan has realized total consideration of about $120...

Evotech OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered a collaboration with Toray Industries Inc., of Tokyo, to identify drug candidates that interact with a target found by Toray's genomic drug discovery project.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Evotech OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered a collaboration with Toray Industries Inc., of Tokyo, to identify drug candidates that interact with a target found by Toray's genomic drug discovery project. Evotec will begin with structural...

Galapagos Genomics NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Galapagos Genomics NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, was awarded by the Flemish Institute for the Promotion of Industrial Scientific-Technological Research a 1.4 million [euro] technology development grant in Belgium for Alzheimer's disease research....

German Ministry of Education and Research.(Other News To Note)(FUGATO)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * The German Ministry of Education and Research started a program to support sequencing the genomes of domesticated animals. The program, known by the acronym FUGATO, is intended to reduce defects in animal husbandry and improve the quality of...

GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it achieved a milestone in its osteoarthritis alliance with Aventis SA, of Strasbourg, France.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it achieved a milestone in its osteoarthritis alliance with Aventis SA, of Strasbourg, France. Aventis selected a validated target, which will be moved into high-throughput screening by Aventis to...

Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, and ChemBridge Research Laboratories LLC, of San Diego, accomplished their first collaboration project.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Merck KgaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, and ChemBridge Research Laboratories LLC, of San Diego, accomplished their first collaboration project. In August, ChemBridge entered a contract research agreement to provide its discovery research...

Micromet AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * Micromet AG, of Munich, Germany, began a Phase II trial with MT201, an antibody targeting the Ep-CAM antigen. The trial will evaluate the compound in post-operative prostate cancer patients who have increased concentrations of serum...

PharmaMar, a Madrid, Spain-based cancer company, sales personnel will be hired by Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, which is expanding its European commercial operations.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * PharmaMar, a Madrid, Spain-based cancer company, sales personnel will be hired by Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, which is expanding its European commercial operations. PharmaMar closed the sales activities it had established after its...

PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, UK, sold intellectual property relating to recombinant Bile Salt Stimulated Lipase (recBSSL) for the treatment of impaired digestion and absorption of fat to Arexis AB, of Gotenborg, Sweden, for 140,000 [pounds sterling] (US$263,862) in cash.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
February 18, 2004... * PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, UK, sold intellectual property relating to recombinant Bile Salt Stimulated Lipase (recBSSL) for the treatment of impaired digestion and absorption of fat to Arexis AB, of Gotenborg, Sweden, for 140,000...