BioWorld International articles from February 2007

BioWorld International archives from February 2007

Push by AstraZeneca includes COPD deal worth up to $500m.
February 7, 2007... LONDON -- AstraZeneca plc went through a hyperactive round last week of licensing and acquisitions, sealing deals worth $650 million. That included a potential $500 million deal with Argenta Discovery Ltd. to identify improved...

Circassia raises 6m [pounds sterling] to move its allergenic products ahead.(Circassia Holdings Ltd)
February 7, 2007... LONDON -- Circassia Holdings Ltd. raised 6 million [pounds sterling] (US$11.7 million) in its first formal private funding round since being spun out of Imperial College London in 1998 to commercialize a technology for attenuating allergenic...

Study confirms prion protein as therapeutic target in CJD.
February 7, 2007... LONDON -- It may one day be possible to treat prion diseases such as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) by mopping up all the naturally occurring normal prion protein in the brain, a study in mice suggested. Using a mouse model in...

ScanBalt promoting Baltic biotechnology cooperation.(Organization overview)
February 7, 2007... HELSINKI, Finland -- Five years since its establishment of ScanBalt as a biotechnology metaregion or network of networks, the initiative is starting to influence the shape of biotechnology cooperation among its member organizations, companies...

AstraZeneca buys antiviral firm arrow for $150m cash.
February 7, 2007... LONDON -- AstraZeneca plc has agreed to buy Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., an antiviral specialist, for $150 million cash. The company will continue to operate as an independent unit, maintaining its facility in London, with Ken Powell,...

Jerini extends pact with Baxter for new hemophilia drugs.
February 7, 2007... Shares in Jerini AG gained slightly Tuesday on news that Baxter International Inc. had extended an existing agreement in hemophilia to include two new drug development programs involving two new targets. Although details of the new...

NicOx details offer to raise 130m [euro].
February 7, 2007... PARIS -- After announcing that it intended to raise 130 million [euro] (US$168.5 million) through a rights issue, NicOx SA released the details of the offer at the end of January, which is open to shareholders residing only in France. ...

Europe moves ahead on advanced therapy rules.
February 7, 2007... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Parliament's key environment committee has at last adopted a view on proposed new European Union rules for advanced therapies--cell therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering. That opens the way for a vote by...

Allergy Therapeutics plc.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Allergy Therapeutics plc, of Worthing, UK, said it concluded an end of Phase II meeting with the FDA for its ultra short course allergy vaccine Pollinex Quattro Ragweed for treating seasonal allergic rhinitis due to ragweed pollen exposure. The...

Amarin Corporation plc.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Amarin Corporation plc, of London, said it completed of the treatment phase of both the North American and European Phase III clinical trials with Miraxion for the treatment of Huntington's disease (HD). The multicenter, randomized,...

Ark Therapeutics Group plc.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Ark Therapeutics Group plc, of London, was awarded a European Commission grant of 2.5 million [euro] (US$3.2 million) to fund a consortium of commercial and academic collaborators to carry out further research into the use of insect-derived...

Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, and GlaxoSmithKline, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., have agreed to end their collaboration to produce and market IMVAMUNE, a third-generation smallpox vaccine.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, and GlaxoSmithKline, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., have agreed to end their collaboration to produce and market IMVAMUNE, a third-generation smallpox vaccine. The two originally signed a deal in...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, increased the proportion of its capital in free float on the Paris stock exchange to 40 percent through a private placement of 970,000 shares, equivalent to 11.2 percent of its equity, with French, British and...

Biofusion plc.(Other News To Note)(announces the launch of a new portfolio company, Absynth Biologics Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 7, 2007... Biofusion plc, of Sheffield, UK, a quoted technology management company, announced the launch of a new portfolio company, Absynth Biologics Ltd., which will develop vaccines and antibodies to treat Staphylococcus aureus infections, including...

Bionest Partners.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Bionest Partners, of Paris, announced the creation of Bionest MPV, a new valuation method designed to provide a quick analysis of loss-making, research-based companies by screening information available on their websites. MPV, which stands for...

Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, entered an agreement with Synphora AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, in the fall for a new drug candidate, JB991, for psoriasis and other conditions.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, entered an agreement with Synphora AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, in the fall for a new drug candidate, JB991, for psoriasis and other conditions. JB991 is a prostaglandin derivative that was developed by Synphora....

Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT), of London, the technology transfer arm of the charity Cancer research UK, said Waypharm SA, of La Roi, France, agreed to license Thioplatin, a novel hypoxia-responsive platinum-based cancer therapy.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT), of London, the technology transfer arm of the charity Cancer research UK, said Waypharm SA, of La Roi, France, agreed to license Thioplatin, a novel hypoxia-responsive platinum-based cancer therapy. CRT...

Cilian AG.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Cilian AG, of Munster, Germany, received a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under the BioChance Plus program. Funds will be used for development of a low-cost expression system for the production of...

CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, entered a deal to manufacture the BT-062 antibody for Biotest AG, of Dreieich, Germany.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, entered a deal to manufacture the BT-062 antibody for Biotest AG, of Dreieich, Germany. The antibody is being developed for treating multiple myeloma. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cobra Biomanufacturing plc, of Keele, UK, said it will manufacture Phase I supplies of a protein vaccine PX107 for treating bone disorders, for Pharmexa AB, of Horsholm, Denmark.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Cobra Biomanufacturing plc, of Keele, UK, said it will manufacture Phase I supplies of a protein vaccine PX107 for treating bone disorders, for Pharmexa AB, of Horsholm, Denmark. The program will include cell banking, process development and...

Compute Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, agreed to collaborate with Jerusalem-based Tea Pharmaceutical Industries to discover biomarkers for the detection of drug toxicity in pre-clinical stages of drug development.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Compute Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, agreed to collaborate with Jerusalem-based Tea Pharmaceutical Industries to discover biomarkers for the detection of drug toxicity in pre-clinical stages of drug development. The initial focus of the project...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, The Netherlands, has signed a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement for the production of monoclonal antibodies with Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Crucell NV, of Leiden, The Netherlands, has signed a nonexclusive STAR research license agreement for the production of monoclonal antibodies with Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories. Under the agreement, Abbott would evaluate Crucell's...

Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, entered an exclusive agreement with Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, for Debio-0719, an inhibitor of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling in early preclinical development for local and metastatic cancer.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, entered an exclusive agreement with Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, for Debio-0719, an inhibitor of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling in early preclinical development for local and metastatic...

Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said it granted Hillcrest Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, worldwide rights to develop its PPAR-delta technology in all fields.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said it granted Hillcrest Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, worldwide rights to develop its PPAR-delta technology in all fields. PPAR-delta, a drug discovery program addressing diabetes and obesity, has...

ImVision GmbH, of Hanover, Germany, gained European patents for its Modular antigen-transporter-molecules for modulating immune responses (MAT molecules) and its Intralymphatic Immunotherapy (ILIT) delivery technology, which it uses in the development of new allergy therapeutics.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... ImVision GmbH, of Hanover, Germany, gained European patents for its Modular antigen-transporter-molecules for modulating immune responses (MAT molecules) and its Intralymphatic Immunotherapy (ILIT) delivery technology, which it uses in the...

Innate Pharma SA, of Marseille, France, announced that Clinical Data Inc., of Newton, Mass., launched a pharmacogenetic test under the terms of the license agreement signed between the two companies last November.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Innate Pharma SA, of Marseille, France, announced that Clinical Data Inc., of Newton, Mass., launched pharmacogenetic test under the terms of the license agreement signed between the two companies last November. The test, PGxPredict:RITUXIMAB,...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said a minority shareholder in its Sinovac China Biotech Co. Ltd. subsidiary, China Bioway Biotech Group Co. Ltd., also of Beijing, has recently received Chinese government approvals to restructure China Bioway's equity interest in Sinovac China.(Other News To Note)
February 7, 2007... Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said a minority shareholder in its Sinovac China Biotech Co. Ltd. subsidiary, China Bioway Biotech Group Co. Ltd., also of Beijing, has recently received Chinese government approvals to restructure China...

Syntopix Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 7, 2007... Syntopix Group plc, of Leeds, UK, signed an agreement with a CRO to prepare its first phase I clinical trial of SYN0017, an anti-oxidant present in a number of food and cosmetic preparations, SYN0401, an antimicrobial ingredient in personal...

Immatics biotech raises $52m for cancer vaccines.
February 14, 2007... Billing the investment as the largest venture capital round in German biotechnology since 2001 , Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH raised 40 million [euro] (US$52.1 million) in a second funding round to further its pipeline of cancer vaccines based...

Celtic secures $156m in loans through drugs in its pipeline.
February 14, 2007... LONDON -- Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings raised $156 million in loans secured against the seven drug development programs in its portfolio, and two or three others it is looking to acquire. The move brings the Bermuda-based company's total...

New genetic variation can alter breast cancer risk.
February 14, 2007... LONDON -- Almost three in four women of European descent have a gene variant that increases their risk of breast cancer by a very small amount. The rest have a variant of the same gene that reduces their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent or...

Medivir gains $31.9m; begins streamlining operations.
February 14, 2007... Medivir AB grossed approximately SEK224.5 million (US$31.9 million) from a heavily discounted share issue directed at existing shareholders. And, in a separate move, the company disclosed that it has gained an equity position in a Chinese...

Geneservice buys Oxford lab, plans further acquisitions.
February 14, 2007... LONDON -- Geneservice Ltd acquired the gene sequencing facility at the University of Oxford's biochemistry department and said it intends to acquire four or five other university facilities to build a nationwide sequencing services firm. ...

Nautilus Biotech and Wyeth partner on hemophilia B.
February 14, 2007... PARIS -- Nautilus Biotech SA and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals signed a research collaboration and license agreement for the discovery and development of novel recombinant Factor IX proteins for the treatment of hemophilia B. The two companies aim...

EU medicines agency to focus on innovative medicines in 2007.
February 14, 2007... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's medicines agency in London plans to devote additional resources this year supporting innovative medicines and technologies. Recently-released detailed plans for 2007 include intensified activity on...

Cellectis oversubscribed IPO completed for $27.5 m.
February 14, 2007... PARIS -- The initial public offering launched by Cellectis SA on the Alternext market of the Paris Euronext stock exchange in January has been successfully completed and generated gross proceeds of 21.2 million [euro] (US$27.5 million) The...

Apitope Technology Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 14, 2007... Apitope Technology Ltd., of Bristol, UK, said it received regulatory approval to start a Phase I study of its therapeutic vaccine in multiple sclerosis. The ATX-MS1467 vaccine is a potentially disease-modifying therapy based on naturally...

Devgen NV, of Ghent, Belgium, entered a five-year research and development agreement with Monsanto Co., of St. Louis, in addition to a technology exchange agreement of the same length.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Devgen NV, of Ghent, Belgium, entered a five-year research and development agreement with Monsanto Co., of St. Louis, in addition to a technology exchange agreement of the same length. The R&D arrangement commits additional funding from...

Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said its worldwide deal to co-develop and commercialize HuMax-CD20 (ofatumumab) with GlaxoSmithKline plc. of London, received final antitrust and other government clearances, and is now final.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said its worldwide deal to co-develop and commercialize HuMax-CD20 (ofatumumab) with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, received final antitrust and other government clearances, and is now final. The deal is...

Innate Pharma SA, of Marseille, France, announced that its partner, Novo Nordisk A/S, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark, had administered IPH 2101, a fully human monoclonal antibody, into humans for the first time in January as part of a Phase I clinical trial on patients with acute myeloid leukemia.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Innate Pharma SA, of Marseille, France, announced that its partner, Novo Nordisk A/S, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark, had administered IPH 2101, a fully human monoclonal antibody, into humans for the first time in January as part of a Phase I clinical...

NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, announced preclinical results from its August 2004 collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc., of New York, which is focused on the research and development of nitric oxide-donating derivatives of latanoprost for the treatment of glaucoma.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, announced preclinical results from its August 2004 collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc., of New York, which is focused on the research and development of nitric oxide-donating derivatives of...

Phoqus Group plc.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Phoqus Group plc, of West Malling, UK, said the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion on its application for orphan status for Chronocort, a treatment for adrenal insufficiency....

ReNeuron Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 14, 2007... ReNeuron Group plc, of Reading, UK, is placing 18,333,333 new ordinary shares of 1p each, credited as fully paid at a price of 0.30 [pounds sterling] per share, to raise 5.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$10.7 million) before expenses. Collins...

S*BIO Pte. Ltd.(Other News To Note)(enters into research collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research)(Brief article)
February 14, 2007... S*BIO Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, entered a research collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*STAR) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology for the discovery and development of multiple oncology compounds. S*BIO will...

Select Vaccines Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Avant Immunotherapeutics Inc., of Needham, Mass., entered a collaboration to use Select Vaccines' virus-like particles as a platform technology for development of viral vaccines.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Select Vaccines Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Avant Immunotherapeutics Inc., of Needham, Mass., entered a collaboration to use Select Vaccines' virus-like particles as a platform technology for development of viral vaccines. Efforts...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, filed for Chinese approval of the hepatitis B vaccine Euvax-B. The company is the product's exclusive distributor, pursuant to a distribution agreement with LG Life Sciences Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea.

Vivalis, of Nantes, France, has granted Sanofi Pasteur SA, of Lyon, France, additional rights to its chicken and duck embryonic stem cell-derived EBx cell lines to test, produce and market vaccine candidates.(Other News To Note)
February 14, 2007... Vivalis, of Nantes, France, has granted Sanofi Pasteur SA, of Lyon, France, additional rights to its chicken and duck embryonic stem cell-derived EBx cell lines to test, produce and market vaccine candidates. The companies signed a licensing...

Bavarian Nordic raising $82m in discounted rights offering.
February 21, 2007... Bavarian Nordic A/S is set to raise gross proceeds of DKK465 million (US$82 million) from a fully underwritten rights issue directed at current shareholders. The Kvistgaard, Denmark-based company is issuing 1.28 million new shares, priced...

Ark gets OKs to advance Vitor into Phase III studies.
February 21, 2007... LONDON -- Ark Therapeutics plc got the go-ahead from U.S. and European regulators to move Vitor, its treatment for cancer cachexia, into Phase III, meaning the company now boasts three products in the final stages of development. Both...

Receptor may hold key to treating myeloma.
February 21, 2007... LONDON -- New insights into a molecule that acts as a brake on cells of the immune system could one day lead to novel therapies for autoimmune diseases or for certain cancers of white blood cells, such as myeloma. A recent study has shown...

Basilea Pharma hits new high on alitretinoin Phase III data.
February 21, 2007... Spurred on by positive topline data from a pivotal Phase III clinical trial of the chronic hand dermatitis treatment alitretinoin (formerly BAL4079), investors in Basilea Pharmaceutica AG pushed the company's share price to close at an all-time...

Celogos licenses myoblast tool for stress urinary incontinence.
February 21, 2007... PARIS -- Celogos and Stem Cell Sciences KK (SCSKK) signed a license agreement covering technologies for myoblast cell implantation to treat stress urinary incontinence. Celogos, of Paris, has granted SCSKK exclusive rights to commercialize...

Ardana plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... Ardana plc, of Edinburgh, UK, announced preliminary results from a U.S. Phase I of its GnRH antagonist Teverelix Long Acting (LA) for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Previous Phase II studies have confirmed that Teverelix LA can...

Avexa Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Novasep, of Paris, signed a manufacturing agreement for the production of apricitabine (ATC), Avexa's nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor for HIV.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Avexa Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Novasep, of Paris, signed a manufacturing agreement for the production of apricitabine (ATC), Avexa's nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor for HIV. Terms cover the continued production, process...

BTG plc, of London, said it acquired an opioid agonist for the control of postoperative pain from CLL Pharma, a drug development company based in Nice, France, in return for undisclosed milestone and royalty payments.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... BTG plc, of London, said it acquired an opioid agonist for the control of postoperative pain from CLL Pharma, a drug development company based in Nice, France, in return for undisclosed milestone and royalty payments. The compound BTG6001, is...

CeNeS pain compound shows good results, with one glitch.(CeNeS Pharmaceuticals PLC)
February 21, 2007... LONDON -- CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc announced positive preliminary results in the pivotal Phase III European trial of its morphine metabolite M6G (morphine-6-glucuronide) in more than 500 patients with postoperative pain, showing equal...

New French biosimilar controls get warm welcome in Europe.
February 21, 2007... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biopharmaceutical industry gave a formal welcome to new French controls on biosimilars--generic versions of biotechnology medicines. The new French medicines law, adopted by the French parliament on Feb. 6,...

EU launches study to boost biotech competitiveness.
February 21, 2007... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Strengthening the competitive advantage of Europe's biomedical health care sector is vital if research, development and jobs are to remain in Europe, according to the European Union's agency on employment matters. The...

Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Siena Biotech SpA, of Siena, Italy, agreed to collaborate on the optimization, validation and evaluation of Elixir's SIRTI inhibitors in Huntington's disease.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Siena Biotech SpA, of Siena, Italy, agreed to collaborate on the optimization, validation and evaluation of Elixir's SIRT1 inhibitors in Huntington's disease. SIRT1, a member of the sirtuin...

Eurofins Scientific.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, reported a 58 percent increase in consolidated revenues in 2006, taking them up to 368 million [euro] from 233 million [euro] in 2005. The outcome exceeded the company's most recent revenue forecast,...

Galapagos NV.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, signed a drug discovery collaboration with the University of Bristol, England, in the field of cancer research. Galapagos' service division, BioFocus DPI, will provide lead optimization services for a...

GeneMedix plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... GeneMedix plc, of Newmarket, UK, which is developing biogeneric drugs, completed the de-listing of its shares from the main market of the London Stock Exchange and joined the junior, Alternative Investment Market. The move marks the completion...

Intercytex plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... Intercytex plc, of Cambridge, UK, said it started a Phase I study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ICX-SKN, a skin graft substitute comprised of active, allogeneic, human dermal fibroblasts embedded in a human collagen matrix which...

KeyNeurotek AG.(Other News To Note)(signs licensing agreement with Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... KeyNeurotek AG, of Munich, Germany, signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH, the technology transfer agency of the Max Planck Society, covering a method to identify drug candidates at the Enzymology of Protein...

MDY plc, of London, a biotech investor, set up a senior advisory panel and appointed three founder members Lawrence Kinet, Jonathan Milner and Brian Steer.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 21, 2007... MDY plc, of London, a biotech investor, set up a senior advisory panel and appointed three founder members Lawrence Kinet, Jonathan Milner and Brian Steer. Kinet is non-executive chairman of Oxford Immunotec Ltd., of Oxford, UK, and Endosense...

NicOx SA.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, completed the rights issue in which it offered more than 9 million new ordinary shares, raising nearly 129.7 million [euro]. Applications for new shares were worth 227 million [euro], so the offering was...

Royal DSM NV, of Sittard, The Netherlands, and Crucell NV, of Leiden, The Netherlands, Wednesday announced fermentation yields of more than 10 grams per liter for monoclonal antibodies, a breakthrough in the development of their PER.C6 technology platform.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Royal DSM NV, of Sittard, The Netherlands, and Crucell NV, of Leiden, The Netherlands, Wednesday announced fermentation yields of more than 10 grams per liter for monoclonal antibodies, a breakthrough in the development of their PER.C6...

Stem Cell Sciences plc, of Edinburgh, UK, licensed its mouse neural stem cell technology to Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., for research use.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Stem Cell Sciences plc, of Edinburgh, UK, licensed its mouse neural stem cell technology to Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., for research use. Financial terms were not disclosed, but include a signing fee and milestone payments....

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Cork, Ireland, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, said the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization to Prezista (TMC114), a protease inhibitor for the treatment of patients infected with HIV-1....

Transgene SA.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, initiated a Phase I trial of its therapeutic vaccine candidate TG4040 (MVA-HCV) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection. The trial is being conducted in France on 15 patients who have never...

VASTox plc.(Other News To Note)
February 21, 2007... VASTox plc, of Oxford, UK, signed two long-term genomics deals with a combined value of $1 million. The first deal involves the generation of a screening model for osteoarthritis in collaboration with Italian firm Rottapharm SpA, which is worth...

Two VC companies closing funds raising more than $1B.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- Two European venture capital firms announced the closing of new funds, raising 785 million [euro] (US$1.03 billion) in total for investment in early stage companies. The UK/U.S. firm SV...

Algeta reports phase II data for Alpharadin in prostate cancer.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent Algeta ASA is embarking on an IPO roadshow buoyed by an unexpected bonus. The company's Phase II clinical trial of its alpha-particle-emitting radionuclide Alpharadin, which had been powered to...

Gene variant halves risks from a number of infectious diseases.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- People's risks of succumbing to four major infectious diseases are influenced by a change in a single amino acid, in a protein that helps to stimulate the immune response to infections. ...

European patent on enzymes sends ark stock to high point.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- Ark Therapeutics is to be granted a European patent on the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in the prevention and treatment of stroke, which it said gives it the right to...

Tighter drug safety monitoring rules are coming to Europe.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Tougher European drug safety monitoring rules are coming, and likely will include post-authorization safety studies. European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen, the...

Top Europe research seeks clarity on stem cell rules.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's top research official has asked for expert advice on improving the current ethical clearance procedures for human embryonic stem cell research. European Science...

Genfit renews collaborations with Sanofi-Aventis, Solvay.(Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium))
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent PARIS -- Genfit renewed two of its strategic research collaborations, one with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, and one with Solvay, of Brussels, Belgium. Genfit, of Lille, France, is developing drugs to...

Hybrigenics refocuses its efforts on ubiquitin-specific proteases.
February 28, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent PARIS -- Hybrigenics SA is refocusing its research activities on ubiquitin-specific proteases and their inhibitors in the treatment of cancer. Paris-based Hybrigenics, which specializes in the...

Antisoma plc.(Other News To Note)
February 28, 2007... Antisoma plc, of London, said it presented positive interim findings from its ongoing phase II trial of AS1404 in hormone-refractory prostate cancer at the ASCO Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla. In the trial, men receiving AS1404 plus...

Arpida Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 28, 2007... Arpida Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, has stopped its research activities at its Danish subsidiary, Arpida A/S, which will lead to the reduction of up to 18 positions, representing about 25 percent of the company's research unit. The company's...

Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, said the International Trade Commission issued an order vacating a ruling that the company's patents on the modified vaccinia ankara (MVA) virus were found to be infringed but valid.(Other News To Note)
February 28, 2007... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, said the International Trade Commission issued an order vacating a ruling that the company's patents on the modified vaccinia ankara (MVA) virus were found to be infringed but valid. The company had...

BioLipox AB, of Solna, Sweden, said current shareholders have agreed to provide additional funding of 15 million [euro] (US$19.9 million) between now and the end of 2008.(Other News To Note)
February 28, 2007... BioLipox AB, of Solna, Sweden, said current shareholders have agreed to provide additional funding of 15 million [euro] (US$19.9 million) between now and the end of 2008. Biolipox mainly is focused on developing drugs that act on novel targets...

Biotage AB.(Other News To Note)
February 28, 2007... Biotage AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, signed a joint agreement with McMaster University to develop a new chemistry platform to speed the production of molecular imaging and therapy agents. Biotage will provide funding and instruments, including an...