BioWorld International articles from February 2008

BioWorld International archives from February 2008

Pharmexa's $18m not enough to secure company's future.
February 6, 2008... BioWorld International Correspondent The management of Pharmexa A/S is starting to scout around for whatever "strategic alternatives" may be available to the company, following the completion of a rights issue that grossed DKK91.2 million...

New rules governing trials in UK takes effect in April.
February 6, 2008... LONDON -- The UK is bringing in a new national accreditation scheme for Phase I clinical trial units, following the TGN1412 trial in which six healthy volunteers suffered life-threatening cytokine storms. The system will be policed by a...

RNA interference pins down cause of tamoxifen resistance.
February 6, 2008... LONDON -- A new understanding of the mechanism by which breast cancers become resistant to the commonly used drug tamoxifen could help clinicians direct the drug to those women most likely to benefit from it. The discovery, which made use...

EuropaBio defends interests of smaller biotech firms.
February 6, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biotech association, EuropaBio, has been publicly defending its achievements in the face of accusations that Europe's 1,800 smaller biotech firms are inadequately represented. In a letter to the editor in...

Seeking to expand immune portfolio, Circassia adds 11m [pounds sterling].(Circassia Ltd)
February 6, 2008... A year after bringing in its first major financing, privately held Circassia Ltd. closed an oversubscribed second round, adding 11 million [pounds sterling] (US$21.8 million) for expanding its portfolio of technologies aimed at regulating...

Polyplus-transfection produces nucleic acid transfer agent.
February 6, 2008... PARIS -- Polyplus-transfection produced the first clinical batch of its transfection reagent in vivo-jetPEI, manufactured in full compliance with good manufacturing practice (GMP). The company pointed out that GMP compliance in vivo-jetPEI...

Innate Pharma, Novo Nordisk refocus efforts on inflammation.
February 6, 2008... PARIS -- Innate Pharma SAS and Novo Nordisk A/S have decided to refocus their research collaboration on inflammation, following the Danish pharmaceutical company's decision to pull out of oncology this year. The agreement that Innate, of...

French farmers seeking ruling on GM crop ban.
February 6, 2008... From Staff Reports PARIS -- Following the French government's decision to suspend the cultivation of genetically modified corn, an association of arable farmers is calling on the Council of State, the final arbiter on all legislation and...

Alchemia Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Alchemia Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said it had reached an agreement with FDA on the HA-irinotecan clinical development program following a pre-investigational new drug meeting. The agency agreed on a pivotal trial design, and the company...

Gastrotech in-licenses Eli Lilly's IBS drug.
February 6, 2008... Gastrotech Pharma A/S in-licensed from Eli Lilly & Co. a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue in development for treating pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The compound, a peptide called GTP-010, had been the subject...

Conquering Biotech IP challenges in China and India.
February 6, 2008... When conducting business overseas, the importance of comprehending intellectual property rights cannot be amplified. According to recent reports, progress is being made pertaining to intellectual property rights protection in China and...

AlgoNomics NV, of Gent, Belgium, has entered into a research collaboration with Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, in which AlgoNomics will use its antibody structure database and Tripole technology to aid Genmab in research related to the structural analysis of Genmab's proprietary antibody scaffolds, including the UniBody technology.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... AlgoNomics NV, of Gent, Belgium, has entered into a research collaboration with Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, in which AlgoNomics will use its antibody structure database and Tripole technology to aid Genmab in research related to the...

Apitope Technology Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... Apitope Technology Ltd., of Bristol, UK, announced results of a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467 in the treatment of multiple sclerosis showed a significant down-regulation of the T-cell response to the autoantigen (myelin basic...

Arana Therapeutics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... Arana Therapeutics Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, sold its animal health subsidiary, Peptech Animal Health Pty, to private investment company Parma Corporation Pty Ltd., which is controlled by Mel Bridges, a former chairman of Peptech. CEO John...

BTG plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... BTG plc, of London, said BGC20-1531 began clinical development in the treatment of migraine. Dosing has begun in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I study, which will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic...

Cerep SA.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Cerep SA, of Paris, has been contracted to provide in vitro pharmacological profiling and ADME/toxicology services for a multiyear spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug discovery project. It was selected by Science Applications International...

Compugen Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, announced results from initial in vivo validation studies of CGEN-855A and CGEN-855B, two novel peptide agonists of the FPRL1 G-protein coupled receptor, which may serve as anti-inflammatory and...

Cytopia Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Cytopia Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said preclinical studies showed that its JAK2 inhibitor, CYT387, blocked the overproduction of red blood cells in cell samples from patients with polycythemia vera, a type of myeloproliferative disorder.

Eden Biodesign Ltd., of Liverpool, UK, reached an agreement with iQur Ltd., of Southampton, UK, a liver disease specialist, to develop iQur's, tandem core vaccine for hepatitis A and B.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Eden Biodesign Ltd., of Liverpool, UK, reached an agreement with iQur Ltd., of Southampton, UK, a liver disease specialist, to develop iQur's, tandem core vaccine for hepatitis A and B. Eden will develop a bio-manufacturing process and carry...

Epistem plc, of Manchester, UK, said it completed a preliminary study with AstraZeneca plc, of London, for the use of its plucked human hair biomarker technology to inform the development of oncology drugs.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Epistem plc, of Manchester, UK, said it completed a preliminary study with AstraZeneca plc, of London, for the use of its plucked human hair biomarker technology to inform the development of oncology drugs. The technology includes analyzing...

Ipsen SA, of Paris, said the FDA accepted for review the biologics license application for Dysport (botulinum neurotoxin Type A complex) in cervical dystonia.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Ipsen SA, of Paris, said the FDA accepted for review the biologics license application for Dysport (botulinum neurotoxin Type A complex) in cervical dystonia. Dysport is marketed outside the U.S. for medical and aesthetic neuromuscular...

Kamada Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... Kamada Ltd., of Weizmann Science Park, Israel, signed a $20 million financing agreement with U.S.-based Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc. under venture lending terms. Kamada said the deal is aimed at diversifying the company's financing...

Karo Bio, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Zylus Cadila, of Ahmedabad, India, have entered into a three-year collaboration to develop new drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... Karo Bio, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Zylus Cadila, of Ahmedabad, India, have entered into a three-year collaboration to develop new drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The goal is selective glucocorticoid receptor modulators for...

Medical Research Council/Asthma UK Center in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Medical Research Council/Asthma UK Center in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma researchers have for the first time succeeded in infecting mice with rhinoviruses, creating an animal model for the common cold. Until now it has not been possible to...

Phosphagenics Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Phosphagenics Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, announced positive results of a preclinical study demonstrating that the combination of its APA-01 product candidate and the statin atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer Inc.) significantly reduced serum...

Progen Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said the company has executed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held U.S. oncology company CellGate Inc., of Redwood City, Calif.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Progen Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said the company has executed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held U.S. oncology company CellGate Inc., of Redwood City, Calif. The purchase price includes $1 million up front,...

ReNeuron Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... ReNeuron Group plc, of Guildford, UK, said it was granted a Type A regulatory review meeting with the FDA to try and steer round the issues that are blocking progress of the company's application to start a Phase I trial of ReN001, its fetal...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, closed its previously announced private placement of 2.5 million shares of common stock priced at $3.90 each, generating gross proceeds of $9.75 million. The shares were placed with Sansar Capital Management...

Stem Cell Sciences plc.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Stem Cell Sciences plc, of Edinburgh, UK, agreed a collaboration with the Myelin Repair Foundation in Saratoga, Calif., for the development of scalable and sustainable methods for culturing human neural stem cells for use in research, target...

Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland, has entered into an agreement with Athenix Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., for the discovery of novel corn insect and soybean cyst nematode-resistance genes.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland, has entered into an agreement with Athenix Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., for the discovery of novel corn insect and soybean cyst nematode-resistance genes. The agreement allows Syngenta access to...

UK.(Other News To Note)(United Kingdom)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... The UK has launched a new system providing a single point of access for companies wanting to carry out clinical trials in the National Health Service. Integrated Research Application System is an online system that combines the applications of...

Vivalis.(Other News To Note)(Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute)(Brief article)
February 6, 2008... Vivalis, of Nantes, France, and the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute (Kaketsuken) in Kumamoto, Japan, said they are extending their collaboration in the testing of Vivalis' EBx cells for the production of human and veterinary viral...

Wellcome Trust.(Other News To Note)
February 6, 2008... The Wellcome Trust said an adenovirus-based malaria vaccine it is sponsoring entered Phase I trials. The vaccine was developed and manufactured at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute. To date, vaccines against malaria have not been...

No funding to be found; Hunter-Fleming is acquired.
February 13, 2008... LONDON -- Another UK biotech bit the dust as Hunter-Fleming Ltd. was acquired by Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA in an all share transaction, after trying for a year, and failing, to raise fresh capital on its own account. The deal sees Milan,...

Ophthaltec breaking ground using GSK's discarded drugs.
February 13, 2008... LONDON -- Start-up Ophthaltec Ltd. sealed its first contracts to provide specialist development services to GlaxoSmithKline plc in ophthalmology and progressed its lead product, a diagnostic for the eye disease glaucoma, toward a first clinical...

Gene variant discoveries may speed prostate cancer tests.
February 13, 2008... LONDON -- The reasons some men develop prostate cancer, and why some prostate cancers are more aggressive than others, are likely to become clearer over the next few years, with the discovery of a clutch of genetic variants that raise a man's...

Zealand's diabetes molecule moving into phase III study.
February 13, 2008... Zealand Pharmaceuticals A/S received a substantial boost with the news that its partner Sanofi-Aventis Group is planning to move its glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist AVE0010 into a 3,000-patient Phase III clinical trial in Type II...

Ablynx rejects antibody patent claims from GSK's Domantis.
February 13, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Ablynx, the Ghent, Belgium-based developer of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, has rejected claims of patent infringement from Domantis, the GlaxoSmithKline-owned UK developer of Human Domain Antibodies. Domantis...

4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Wuppertal, Germany-based AiCuris GmbH & Co KG have entered into a research collaboration to develop a product pipeline of anti-infective drug candidates.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Wuppertal, Germany-based AiCuris GmbH & Co KG have entered into a research collaboration to develop a product pipeline of anti-infective drug candidates. 4SC AG will provide resources from its medicinal...

7TM Pharma A/S.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... 7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, selected the Cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) antagonist TM38837 as a preclinical development candidate for obesity and metabolic diseases. The company plans to begin Phase I trials by the end of the year. A Phase...

Amarin Corp.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... Amarin Corp., of London, said it regained compliance with the Nasdaq listing requiring a $1 per share minimum bid price. Following Amarin's Jan. 18 reverse stock split, its Nasdaq ticker symbol for a 20 trading days will appear as AMRND. The...

Boost in French funding gives innate 68% revenue increase.
February 13, 2008... PARIS -- The operating revenue of Innate Pharma SAS bounded by 67.8 percent to 14.2 million [euro] (US$20.7 million) in 2007, mainly thanks to a 143 percent increase in government research funding. In effect, the Marseille, France-based...

BM Bioventures pulls $136m Zurich IPO.
February 13, 2008... Faced with poor market conditions, Swiss life sciences investment firm HBM Bioventures Ltd. decided to pull a planned IPO, but it is proceeding to list its shares on the Swiss Stock Exchange in Zurich. Trading is expected to commence tomorrow....

Gastrotech Pharma A/S.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... Gastrotech Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed a $6 million Series D round to support its Phase IIb development program for GTP-010 in pain in irritable bowel disease. Funds also will be used to advance Phase II work on GTP-300, a...

London Genetics Ltd., of London, and Genizon BioSciences Inc., of Montreal, are collaborating to replicate discoveries made by Genizon in a genomewide association study of schizophrenia.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... London Genetics Ltd., of London, and Genizon BioSciences Inc., of Montreal, are collaborating to replicate discoveries made by Genizon in a genomewide association study of schizophrenia. Genizon's study identified multiple genes associated with...

Trophos awarded grant for Parkinson's work.
February 13, 2008... PARIS -- Trophos SA was awarded a Therapeutics Development Initiative grant by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) to finance the continued evaluation of compounds preventing mitochondrial dysfunction as a possible treatment for Parkinson's...

SkyePharma plc, of London, entered an agreement for Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, of Hyderabad, India, to undertake a feasibility study of a product using two of SkyePharma's drug delivery systems.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... SkyePharma plc, of London, entered an agreement for Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, of Hyderabad, India, to undertake a feasibility study of a product using two of SkyePharma's drug delivery systems. Dr. Reddy's will pay the cost of the study and...

Synairgen plc.(Other News To Note)(patent rights for screening test)(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... Synairgen plc, of Southampton, UK, said it was granted a U.S. patent on its screening test that can identify compounds capable of improving lung barrier function in asthmatics. In asthmatics, the cell barrier that lines the lungs is poorly...

Tissue Therapies Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Medical condition overview)
February 13, 2008... Tissue Therapies Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said it has been granted ethics approval to proceed with the human clinical trial of VitroGro, a wound healing product for the treatment of diabetic and venous ulcers. The trial is set to begin...

Trophos SA.(Other News To Note)(contracts)(Brief article)
February 13, 2008... Trophos SA, of Marseille, France, said the Michael J. Fox Foundation awarded the firm a Therapeutics Development Initiative grant to evaluate compounds preventing mitochondrial dysfunction to treat Parkinson's disease. The project aims to...

UCB SA.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said the FDA has agreed to accept a biologics license application for Cimzia for the treatment of adult patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Cimzia would be the first and only PEGylated anti-TNF biologic...

Xenome Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 13, 2008... Xenome Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, named Ian Nisbet as CEO. Nisbet also will join Xenome's board as managing director. Nisbet previously worked in senior management and executive roles in a number of biotechnology companies, including...

MolMed seeking $106m in IPO to boost cell therapy Phase III.
February 20, 2008... One month after receiving a green light to move its cell therapy treatment for improving the outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplants into a Phase III clinical trial, MolMed SpA. is launching an initial public offering in which it is...

AstraZeneca spinout Albireo gets $40m for GI drug effort.
February 20, 2008... Albireo AB, a company newly spun out from AstraZeneca plc to develop a portfolio of drug candidates in a number of gastrointestinal (GI) indications, banked $27 million in a first closing of a Series A round that will close out at $40 million...

Gene for LDL metabolism could open new pathways.
February 20, 2008... LONDON -- A study of almost 12,000 individuals has identified a previously unknown genetic variant that influences levels of LDL cholesterol. The region of the genetic variation, on chromosome 1, has never been linked previously to lipid...

SCS restructuring to streamline, and boost near-term revenues.
February 20, 2008... LONDON -- Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) Group plc is closing its Edinburgh headquarters, in a blow to Scotland's ambitions to be a leading center for research, development and commercialization in the stem cell field. The office is moving to...

Diamyd eyes spring start for Phase III diabetes trial.
February 20, 2008... Diamyd Medical AB is on track to begin a Phase III clinical trial of its therapeutic vaccine for Type I diabetes this spring. The Stockholm, Sweden-based firm said it replied to the sole question it received from the FDA on its IND filing,...

Archemix Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and NascaCell Technologies AG, of Munich, Germany, said they have expanded their alliance on the use and development of aptamers, a new generation of biomolecules.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Archemix Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and NascaCell Technologies AG, of Munich, Germany, said they have expanded their alliance on the use and development of aptamers, a new generation of biomolecules. Specific terms were not disclosed. Under...

Cellartis, of Gothenburg, Sweden, said it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., of New York, for the development of a novel model system for detecting human toxicity in vitro.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Cellartis, of Gothenburg, Sweden, said it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., of New York, for the development of a novel model system for detecting human toxicity in vitro. The goal is to generate a predictive...

Europe only 'flirting' with biotech, farmers charge.(European Union Roundup)
February 20, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Farmers Biotech Network has accused the European Union of merely "flirting" with biotechnology. In a letter delivered to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the network's chairman, David Hill,...

Compugen Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, reported positive in vivo results for two novel peptide agonists of the MAS G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) for potential treatment of various cardiovascular and other pathologies. The two...

Cytheris SA.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Cytheris SA, of Paris, reported the results of the long-term follow-up of patients in a multicenter Phase I/II clinical trial designed to test CYT107, its recombinant Interleukin-7 (IL-7), as a potential therapy for people suffering from...

Eurofins Scientific.(Other News To Note)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, reported a 34 percent increase in revenues to 491.8 million [euro] (US$724.9 million) in 2007, which was well above its recent forecast of 460 million [euro]. The company's revenues have doubled in two...

MRC spinout gets funding after validating technology.(Medical Research Council)(Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.)
February 20, 2008... LONDON -- Heptares Therapeutics Ltd., the latest spinout from the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC), secured further seed capital after validating its novel G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) stabilization technology. The founding...

EUSA Pharma, of Oxford, UK, said it has licensed OP-R003, a human anti-interleukin-6 antibody discovered by Rochester, N.Y.-based Vaccinex Inc. to GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... EUSA Pharma, of Oxford, UK, said it has licensed OPR003, a human anti-interleukin-6 antibody discovered by Rochester, N.Y.-based Vaccinex Inc. to GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London. Under the terms, GSK will pay an undisclosed up-front license fee,...

Evotec AG.(Other News To Note)(Evotec BioSystems AG)(CHDI Foundation Inc.)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said the CHDI Foundation Inc., which supports therapies for Huntington's disease, has extended its collaboration with Evotec, which will bring in an extra $37 million in research funds. The partnership, now...

Foamix Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Foamix Ltd., of Ness Ziona, Israel, said it has agreed to acquire the license for Organo-Boron antifungal molecules from Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. The financial terms were not disclosed. Under the deal, Foamix will have the exclusive...

Lipoxen plc.(Other News To Note)(Serum Institute of India)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Lipoxen plc, of London, said its partner, Serum Institute of India, has began dosing patients in a Phase I trial of ErepoXen, a long-acting EPO in the treatment of anemia in patients receiving renal dialysis. The product is formulated using...

Living Cell Technologies Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said the Children with Diabetes Foundation has offered its support in raising funds for LCT's DiabeCell clinical trials for people with Type I diabetes. The foundation has established a...

Mymetics Corp.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Mymetics Corp., of Nyon, Switzerland, said it is part of a European healthcare consortium awarded a [euro]7.5 million (US$11 million) grant from the European Commission to investigate new HIV antigen formulations for triggering broadly...

Optimata Ltd.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Optimata Ltd., of Ramat Gan, Israel, said it successfully completed a private placement of $1.5 million from a new group of private European investors. The proceeds will enable Optimata to complete the evaluation process required for selecting...

Pharmaxis.(Other News To Note)(drug approval by Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Pharmaxis, of Sydney, Australia, said it will apply for Australian marketing approval of Bronchitol for patients with bronchiectasis, following a meeting with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. Bronchitol is being developed as a...

Plasticell.(Other News To Note)(exploit agreements)(Brief article)
February 20, 2008... Plasticell, of London, has entered into an agreement with King's College London to exploit and market two human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines. The agreement gives Plasticell a license to make, have made, use and sell the hESC lines KCL-001...

Senexis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Oxygen Healthcare Ltd. (O2H), also of Cambridge, agreed to a collaboration, under which O2H will provide synthetic and computational chemistry services for Senexis' drug discovery programs.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Senexis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Oxygen Healthcare Ltd. (O2H), also of Cambridge, agreed to a collaboration, under which O2H will provide synthetic and computational chemistry services for Senexis' drug discovery programs. Senexis focuses on...

Shire plc.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Shire plc, of Basingstoke, UK, said Elaprase (idursulfase), a human enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of Hunter syndrome, has been approved for commercial sale by the Mexican Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary...

Sygnis Pharma AG.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... Sygnis Pharma AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, has received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency for AX200 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company said...

ValiRx.(Other News To Note)
February 20, 2008... ValiRx, of London, has signed a letter of intent with Clarity Imaging International Inc. to secure the distribution rights Clarity holds for the human papillomavirus (HPV) Geneotype Diagnostic Test Kit for the European Economic Area and...

Hard times in capital market leave UK stalwarts vulnerable.
February 27, 2008... LONDON -- Fallout from the malaise in the capital markets has hit the heart of UK biotech, with quoted companies Vernalis plc, Ardana plc and Medical Marketing International Group (MMI) plc announcing cutbacks and restructuring that leave all...

Satraplatin reverberations: GPC cutting 63 positions.
February 27, 2008... GPC Biotech AG is continuing to radically prune its organization. The latest round of job cuts, announced Monday, will trim the company back to just 63 employees: 14 in its Munich, Germany-based headquarters and 49 at its Princeton, N.J.,...

Gene search for bald facts raises hope for the hairless.
February 27, 2008... LONDON -- The identification of a gene that is responsible for a rare type of inherited hair loss may lead to new treatments for many different conditions that lead to thinning hair or baldness. Researchers based in Germany and Saudi Arabia...

Immtech drops pafuramidine due to liver safety concerns.
February 27, 2008... PARIS -- Following the decision by Immtech Pharmaceuticals Inc. to halt the development of pafuramidine maleate, BioAlliance Pharma has issued a statement reasserting its commitment to continue looking for compounds to in-license in the areas...

Antibiotic progress slow, but the need continues.
February 27, 2008... LONDON -- The need for new antibiotics is far greater than realized, with documented antibiotic resistance representing the tip of a fast-growing iceberg and not the true scale of the problem. But despite huge unmet need, there is little...

Genmab pays $240m for PDL's antibody manufacturing facility.
February 27, 2008... Strengthening its position as a major antibody player, Genmab A/S said it is securing its own manufacturing capability in a deal to acquire troubled PDL BioPharma Inc.'s Brooklyn, Minn., facility for $240 million. The deal, which also...

EU industry backs database on life sciences projects.
February 27, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European pharmaceutical industry has taken over a life sciences database from the European Union, with the intention of making it self-financing. The Life Competence database is an online network and...