BioWorld International articles from July 2002

BioWorld International archives from July 2002

Analysts see $105m Serono offer as best bet for sliding Genset.
July 3, 2002... PARIS -- The cash offer for Genset SA of 107 million [euro] (US$105 million) that Serono SA filed with the French stock market authorities last week raises two questions: Does the price being offered put a fair value on Genset, and will its...

Fetal physiologists fix sights on placental growth factor.
July 3, 2002... LONDON -- Insights into the causes of low birth weight in humans are likely to follow the discovery of a murine gene that controls the growth of the placenta and the flow of nutrients from mother to fetus. The gene in question, which...

European Parliament voting on controversial GMO labeling issue. (European Union Roundup).
July 3, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Parliament will vote today on new European Union rules concerning labeling and traceability of GMO foods and animal feeds, at the end of a debate that has sharply divided opinion in the EU. The...

Meristem Therapeutics raises $20.7m in fourth funding round.
July 3, 2002... PARIS -- Meristem Therapeutics completed a fourth funding round in which it raised 21.15 million [euro] (US$20.7 million) from existing and new investors. Of that total, 13 million [euro] was put up by eight newcomers, all of them...

Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., of London, agreed to a collaboration with Toyama Chemical, of Tokyo, for the discovery of antifungal drugs targeting the Aro pathway. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., of London, agreed to a collaboration with Toyama Chemical, of Tokyo, for the discovery of antifungal drugs targeting the Aro pathway. Under the deal, Arrow will provide the target protein AROM, a proprietary screening...

Bavarian Nordic A/S. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it raised gross proceeds of DKK67 million (US$8.9 million) from a rights issue involving the placing of 959,140 new shares, priced at DKK70 per share. The company said it will net...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute announced that the first annual symposium on alternative splicing, Splicing 2002, will take place at the Shady Grove Campus of the University System of...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, signed an agreement with the French pharmaceutical company Pierre-Fabre Medicament and its research arm, Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre, giving it exclusive worldwide rights to a line of bacterial membrane-based immunotherapeutic agents. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, signed an agreement with the French pharmaceutical company Pierre-Fabre Medicament and its research arm, Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre, giving it exclusive worldwide rights to a line of bacterial...

ML Laboratories plc. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * ML Laboratories plc, of Warrington, UK, received approval for a Phase III study of Devacade for the treatment of neuropathic pain that is resistant to morphine and other opioid analgesics. In the Phase II studies, there was additional pain...

Pharmagene plc, of Royston, UK, entered a further agreement with AstraZeneca UK Ltd. to use Pharmagene's target validation capabilities to provide data on the localization of specific drug targets in human tissue. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Pharmagene plc, of Royston, UK, entered a further agreement with AstraZeneca UK Ltd. to use Pharmagene's target validation capabilities to provide data on the localization of specific drug targets in human tissue. The deal expands the number...

F2G collaborates with GTC, completes first piece of funding.
July 3, 2002... LONDON -- F2G Ltd. agreed to a collaboration with Genome Therapeutics Corp. as it moved to first completion of a 5 million [pounds sterling] (US$7.65 million) venture capital funding round, with a second closing of a further 5 million [pounds...

Personal Chemistry completes $31.6m round of financing.
July 3, 2002... Personal Chemistry AB added SEK290 million (US$31.6 million) to its coffers in a fourth financing round supported primarily by existing shareholders. One of them, HealthCap, acted as lead investor, while 3i plc, of London, Investor Growth...

Cellectis raises $15.7m in second round for Meganuclease facilities.
July 3, 2002... PARIS -- Cellectis SA completed a second financing round in which it raised 16 million [euro] (US$15.7 million), bringing to 20 million [euro] the total capital the company has raised since its inception in December 1999. The latest...

Inoxell, Rigel settle patent dispute on target identification technology.
July 3, 2002... Danish genomics firm Inoxell A/S and Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. settled a patent dispute involving target identification technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement also entails cross-licensing and joint ownership of...

Paion wins 4.9 million [euro] grant from German state government.
July 3, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded a 4.9 million [euro] (US$4.9 million) grant to Paion GmbH, of Aachen, to develop production capabilities for therapeutic proteins. The state grant supplements a federal grant...

MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, generated and delivered to Roche Group, of Basel, Switzerland, several antibodies aimed at a target for Alzheimer's disease. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, generated and delivered to Roche Group, of Basel, Switzerland, several antibodies aimed at a target for Alzheimer's disease. With the delivery, MorphoSys has hit the third milestone in a collaboration the...

Oxford Biomedica plc. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Oxford Biomedica plc, of Oxford, UK, said its motor neuron disease program was awarded a $120,000 grant by a charity, the USA Amylotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. The company will assess five genes as components of a treatment for...

ReNeuron Holdings plc. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * ReNeuron Holdings plc, of Guildford, UK, said it enlarged its collection of human brain Stem cells. It now lays claim to the largest collection of neural stem cells, and is seeking collaborations to exploit the cells in drug discovery. The...

Biovitrum sells off plasma business to Swiss company.
July 3, 2002... The Swedish biotechnology firm Biovitrum AB is disposing of its plasma products division, a business with an annual turnover of SEK800 million (US$87 million), to Swiss company Octapharma AG in a deal scheduled to close July 15. "We are...

Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, agreed to a cross-licensing deal with GTC Biotherapeutics Inc., of Framingham, Mass. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, agreed to a cross-licensing deal with GTC Biotherapeutics Inc., of Framingham, Mass., to access aspects of each other's technology for producing therapeutic proteins in the milk of transgenic...

Xenova Group plc, of Slough, UK, announced that enrollment has begun in two pivotal Phase III trials of tariquidar, as an adjunct for the prevention of multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * Xenova Group plc, of Slough, UK, announced that enrollment has begun in two pivotal Phase III trials of tariquidar, as an adjunct for the prevention of multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy. Approximately 1,000 patients will be...

YM BioSciences Inc. (Other News To Note).
July 3, 2002... * YM BioSciences Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, said it completed recruitment of a Phase II study of tesmilifene, a small-molecule chemopotentiator, in combination with mitoxantrone/prednisone, in the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory...

British Biotech boss leads lobbying group. (European Union Roundup).
July 3, 2002... Elliot Goldstein, CEO of British Biotech, has been elected president of the Emerging Biopharmaceutical Enterprises group, the European lobby group within the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. He takes over from...

Investment bank prepared to help biotech. (European Union Roundup).
July 3, 2002... The European Union regulatory environment for the biopharmaceutical industry is still incoherent, according to Jean-Jacques Mertens, a senior official of the European Investment Bank. The national variations on intellectual property protection...

Elan seeking US$1b in asset sale as top executive departs.
July 10, 2002... DUBLIN, Ireland -- The top slot at ailing Irish biopharmaceutical firm Elan Corp. plc became available Tuesday as Chairman and CEO Donal Geaney vacated both roles, following a share price meltdown last Thursday, when Standard & Poor's reduced...

Complement proteins may hold key to autoimmune kidney damage.
July 10, 2002... LONDON -- Inappropriate activation of the complement system--part of the innate immune system that helps to protect animals from infection--can lead to a form of kidney damage frequently seen in patients with autoimmune diseases. The discovery...

European parliament votes for tougher GMO controls.
July 10, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Parliament voted enthusiastically for tougher controls on GMOs in its plenary debate in Strasbourg, France, last week, to the open consternation of the European biotechnology industry. There were strong...

Oxagen cuts staff, refocuses programs to conserve cash.
July 10, 2002... LONDON -- Oxagen plc said it is cutting its staff by 20 percent and focusing its efforts on gene discovery in inflammatory and metabolic diseases, in order to stretch its cash reserves. CEO Trevor Nicholls told BioWorld International, "The...

British Biotech plc, of Oxford, UK, experienced setbacks with two of its four products in clinical development, stopping a Phase II study of E21R in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after new preclinical data failed to support the previous high incidence of apoptosis in AML. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... British Biotech plc, of Oxford, UK, experienced setbacks with two of its four products in clinical development, stopping a Phase II study of E21R in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after new preclinical data failed to support the previous high...

Entomed SA. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... Entomed SA, of Strasbourg, France, announced the imminent departure of its CEO, Mario Thomas. Thomas informed the company that he is to return to his native Canada at the end of September for "personal reasons." He has been with Entomed for two...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, has been given leave by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to file a patent application for a process and kits permitting the early in vitro detection of a range of diseases. The company, which uses...

GeneMedix plc, of Newmarket, UK, agreed to a collaboration with SkyePharma plc, of London, to develop an extended-release version of interferon alpha 2b, using SkyPharma's DepoFoam injectable drug delivery technology. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... GeneMedix plc, of Newmarket, UK, agreed to a collaboration with SkyePharma plc, of London, to develop an extended-release version of interferon alpha 2b, using SkyPharma's DepoFoam injectable drug delivery technology. SkyePharma already has...

Isogenica Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, agreed to a research collaboration with Graseby Dynamics Ltd,, a manufacturer of nuclear, biological and chemical detection equipment for military and civil defense applications. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... Isogenica Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, agreed to a research collaboration with Graseby Dynamics Ltd,, a manufacturer of nuclear, biological and chemical detection equipment for military and civil defense applications. The collaboration will assess...

KS Biomedix Holdings plc. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... KS Biomedix Holdings plc, of Guildford, UK, said it received FDA approval for a Phase I study of TransMID in children with malignant brain tumors. The study will assess increasing doses of the product, which delivers diphtheria toxin to...

CellFactors seeks 8m [pounds sterling] in offer to finance bone-repair product.
July 10, 2002... LONDON -- CellFactors plc said it is seeking to raise 8 million [pounds sterling] (US$12.4 million) through an offer to existing investors and institutions, to finance the development of Skeletex, its bone-repair product. CellFactors CEO...

Cerep concludes two service contracts with Sanofi-Synthelabo.
July 10, 2002... PARIS -- Cerep SA signed two service contracts with Sanofi-Synthelabo, calling for it to create a chemical library using its combinatorial chemistry platform and to undertake high-throughput profiling on behalf of the Paris-based pharmaceutical...

Biopsytec raises 5m [euro] in second round of financing.
July 10, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- Biopsytec Holding AG raised 5 million [euro] (US$5 million) in a second round of private equity financing. The company, which has become well known for its diagnostics for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), specializes...

LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, published a study reporting that comprehensive IT solutions in pharmaceutical research and development could save as much as $264 million and one year of development time for each new drug. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, published a study reporting that comprehensive IT solutions in pharmaceutical research and development could save as much as $264 million and one year of development time for each new drug. The study,...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, and Migragen AG, of Tuebingen, Germany, began a collaboration to identify, optimize and produce small-molecule drug candidates through a joint discovery and development program. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, and Migragen AG, of Tuebingen, Germany, began a collaboration to identify, optimize and produce small-molecule drug candidates through a joint discovery and development program. The companies will initially...

NicOx SA. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, reported positive results from a Phase I/II trial of an inhaled formulation of NCX 950, a nitric oxide-donating salbutamol salt that the company is developing for the treatment of respiratory infections....

Proteome Science plc, of Cobham, UK, said it completed the acquisition of Xzillion Proteomics GmbH of Co KG, the proteomics division of Aventis Research and Technologies GmbH and Co KG. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, said it completed the acquisition of Xzillion Proteomics GmbH of Co KG, the proteomics division of Aventis Research and Technologies GmbH and Co KG. Proteome paid 12.6 million [pounds sterling] in new...

Oxxon moves third product into Phase II, seeks more funding.
July 10, 2002... LONDON -- Oxxon Pharmaccines Ltd. moved its hepatitis B vaccine into a Phase II trial, giving the company three products in Phase II, with a fourth due to enter Phase II before the end of 2002. At the same time, Oxxon is seeking to raise 10...

Qiagen NV. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, announced a profit warning for the second half of 2002. The company expects sales of $300 million in the rest of the year, 13 percent below the previous estimates. On that basis, profits are expected to be...

ReGen Therapeutics plc. (Other News To Note).
July 10, 2002... ReGen Therapeutics plc, of London, said it is seeking funds to continue development of Colostrinin in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, following positive results in the open-label phase of a 30-week trial, carried out in Poland. In the...

BioProtein, Eurogentec enter therapeutic proteins alliance.
July 10, 2002... PARIS -- BioProtein Technologies entered into a strategic alliance with Eurogentec Group for the production of therapeutic proteins. BioProtein Technologies is a French biotechnology company specialized in the production of proteins in the...

Ardana buys Europeptides for 28m [euro], expands portfolio.
July 17, 2002... LONDON -- Ardana Bioscience Ltd. acquired Europeptides GEIE for 28 million [euro] (US$28.3 million), along with intellectual property from Europeptides' owner, Zentaris AG, in a deal that Ardana says puts it one to two years closer to a...

Scientists: conserved DNA blocks will speed disease genes hunt.
July 17, 2002... LONDON -- Large segments of chromosome 22 are inherited as single blocks that are identical in most people, an analysis of DNA sequence has shown. Companies and researchers trawling the genome for mutant genes that cause disease are likely to...

Innate Pharma raises $20m in second round of funding.
July 17, 2002... PARIS -- Innate Pharma SAS raised 20 million [euro] (US$20 million) in a second funding round, 5 million [euro] more than it was seeking. The two lead investors--providing 10 million [euro] between them--were Alta Partners, of San...

Amrad to stop development of hepatitis B compound.
July 17, 2002... SYDNEY, Australia -- Fresh from a disastrous series of announcements of major project setbacks that triggered a board shakeout, Amrad Corp. Ltd. declared it will abandon a treatment for hepatitis B after poor results from a Phase IIa trial. ...

Angiogene Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Oxford, UK, licensed its ANG 600 series of vascular targeting agents to MediciNova Inc., of San Diego. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Angiogene Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Oxford, UK, licensed its ANG 600 series of vascular targeting agents to MediciNova Inc., of San Diego. MediciNova will make an up-front payment, potential milestone and royalty payments, and will be...

Ark Therapeutics plc, of London, announced a collaboration with Tanabe Seikaku Co. Ltd., of Japan, to develop and market treatments for cachexia, muscle wasting associated with cancer and AIDS. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Ark Therapeutics plc, of London, announced a collaboration with Tanabe Seikaku Co. Ltd., of Japan, to develop and market treatments for cachexia, muscle wasting associated with cancer and AIDS. Ark will develop one of Tanabe's existing...

Capsulution NanoScience AG. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Capsulution NanoScience AG, of Berlin, won more than 500,000 [euro] (US$495,000) in funding from a nanobiotechnology program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project aims to develop artificial cells, which...

GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, reached two research milestones in its virology alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim, of Ingelheim, Germany. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, reached two research milestones in its virology alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim, of Ingelheim, Germany. GPC Biotech used its technology platform to identify and biochemically validate targets for the...

MelTec GmbH. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... MelTec GmbH, of Magdeburg, Germany, was awarded a grant of 2.3 million [euro] (US$2.3 million) from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to improve its approaches to individualized medicine by establishing a...

Oxford BioMedica plc. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, said it is planning a Phase II trial of its cancer gene therapy product, TroVax. The announcement was made when Oxford BioMedica released further data from the Phase I/II trial at the Society for Cancer Gene...

Swiss start-up Addex raises CHF15.75m to treat addiction.
July 17, 2002... Swiss start-up Addex Pharmaceuticals SA, which is developing new therapeutic approaches for treating addiction, attracted a string of European venture capital funds to its inaugural financing round, raising CHF15.75 million (US$10.9 million)....

Micromet AG. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Micromet AG, of Martinsried, Germany, published details in the upcoming issue of the International Journal of Cancer of an antibody designed to treat certain forms of prostate cancer. The compound, designated MT201, is a fully human antibody...

Oxford GlycoSciences plc. (Other News To Note).
July 17, 2002... Oxford GlycoSciences plc, of Abingdon, UK, announced a collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. in Bethesda, Md., to discover and validate serum biomarkers of cystic fibrosis. The foundation will pay up to US$5.5...

Germany issues regulations concerning new stem cell law.
July 17, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- The German cabinet issued guidelines this week to implement the new national law on human stem cell research. The law, which passed both houses of Parliament earlier this summer, puts the import of stem cells for research...

New EU presidency focuses on biotechnology issues. (European Union Roundup).
July 17, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Biotechnology is one of the priorities chosen by Denmark, which has just taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union until the end of this year. Denmark Minister for Economic and Business Affairs Bendt Bendtsen...

Improving understanding of biotechnology. (European Union Roundup).
July 17, 2002... Meanwhile, the European Union has been trying to find new ways of increasing public understanding of science--and particularly of biotechnology. On July 9, it organized a conference on life sciences and the media in Brussels, as a step toward...

Slow work on new guidance on EU GMO rules. (European Union Roundup).
July 17, 2002... Two new guidance notes on how to comply with the EU rules on biotechnology are emerging--with some difficulty--from the European Union. The proposed texts provide details of how the 2001 directive on the deliberate release of genetically...

EU ratifies Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. (European Union Roundup).
July 17, 2002... The European Union ratified the January 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the first international legal framework for the cross-border movement of genetically modified organisms. The protocol is designed to protect biological diversity,...

Inpharmatica signs Daiichi to 3-year BioPendium deal.
July 17, 2002... LONDON -- Inpharmatica Ltd. signed its first deal in Japan, a three-year, multimillion-pound contract giving Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. access to Biopendium, a system for translating genome sequence data into drug targets. ...

Genset closes San Diego facility as Serono bid moves ahead.
July 17, 2002... PARIS -- The takeover bid for Genset SA, which the Swiss biotechnology company Serono SA initiated in June, officially opened in both France and the U.S. on July 16 and will close Sept. 12. The cash tender offer for Genset's ordinary...

Jari, Genmab to develop antibodies for inflammation.
July 17, 2002... Dutch drug discovery firm Jari Pharmaceuticals BV entered an alliance with Genmab A/S focused on the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that act on inflammation-related targets supplied by Jari. The deal, Jari's first major...

IsoTis establishes Chienna to focus on protein delivery.
July 17, 2002... LONDON -- IsoTis NV set up a subsidiary, Chienna BV, to specialize in applying IsoTis's polymer and ceramic technologies to protein drug delivery. The new unit will be based at IsoTis's facility in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Hans...

Anglo-Japanese firm formed around liposome gene vectors.
July 24, 2002... LONDON -- The first Anglo-Japanese biotechnology company, IC-Vec Ltd., has been spun out from Imperial College London with 3.1 million [pounds sterling] (US$4.8 million) of Japanese venture capital and intellectual property from Mitsubishi...

Urine test for bladder cancer could detect prostate cancer.
July 24, 2002... LONDON -- A large-scale trial involving 3,000 patients is about to begin to evaluate a simple urine test for bladder cancer. The test, which detects a protein involved in cell division, could replace the battery of expensive and invasive tests...

Danish EU president makes strict GMO rules a priority. (European Union Roundup).
July 24, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Only days after the Danish minister responsible for business signaled to the European Parliament his determination to help the European biotechnology industry, his colleague responsible for agriculture put out an opposite...

MBT Munich starts study of agent with cancer applications.
July 24, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- LipoRed, a diagnostic agent from MBT Munich Biotechnology AG, entered a Phase Ib/II study to determine its effectiveness in patients with head and neck cancer. The compound is part of a technology platform that the company...

Genetix Group, MRC enter 2.5m [pounds sterling] project on protein interactions.
July 24, 2002... LONDON -- Genetix Group plc is teaming up with the UK Medical Research Council in a 2.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$3.9 million), three-year project to develop and validate high-throughput systems to automate the measurement of...

Stem Cell Research Center to push science in Denmark.
July 24, 2002... The promoters of the newly formed Dansk Center for Stamcelleforskning (Danish Center for Stem Cell Research) are looking to further accelerate stem cell research in Denmark by establishing a graduate school that would provide interdisciplinary...

Axxima Pharmaceuticals AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and BioFocus plc, of Sittingbourne, UK, entered a drug discovery collaboration. (Other News To Note).
July 24, 2002... Axxima Pharmaceuticals AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and BioFocus plc, of Sittingbourne, UK, entered a drug discovery collaboration. Axxima will provide proprietary kinase targets to BioFocus, which will then design high-throughput screening...

Entocosm Pty Ltd. (Other News To Note).
July 24, 2002... Entocosm Pty Ltd., of Canberra, Australia, has been created by the Division of Entomology, a part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, to identify drug candidates from insects. New York investment banker Malcolm...

The German Central Ethics Commission for Stem Cell Research. (Other News To Note).
July 24, 2002... The German Central Ethics Commission for Stem Cell Research held its first meeting, together with the Robert Koch Institute. Under Germany's new law on stem cell research (see BioWorld International, July 17, 2002), the commission is tasked...

Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, of Gerenzano, Italy, said it raised an additional 6.5 million [euro] in the final closing of its second funding round. (Other News To Note).
July 24, 2002... Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, of Gerenzano, Italy, said it raised an additional 6.5 million [euro] in the final closing of its second funding round. Apax Capital Partners, of Paris, has joined the original second-round investors, Atlas Venture,...

Personal Chemistry AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it entered a distribution agreement with the Japanese subsidiary of Amersham Biosciences, of Piscataway, N.J. (Other News To Note).
July 24, 2002... Personal Chemistry AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it entered a distribution agreement with the Japanese subsidiary of Amersham Biosciences, of Piscataway, N.J. Amersham Biosciences KK has sole Japanese distribution rights for the company's...

Biotech products hit trademark problems in Europe. (European Union Roundup).
July 24, 2002... Biotechnology-based medicines are running into problems with the European Union over trademarks, according to European drug manufacturers. They complain that the EU's regulatory authorities, are unfairly restricting the use of trademarks for...

GM animal models `useful' in EU drug testing. (European Union Roundup).
July 24, 2002... Genetically modified animal models can be useful for carcinogenicity assessment in new drug development, European Union safety experts have concluded. The safety working party at the EU's European medicines agency in London has examined the...

BresaGen, British Biotech see setbacks continue as E21R fails.
July 31, 2002... SYDNEY, Australia -- Unfavorable results from clinical trials have stopped another collaborative project involving an Australian biotech company, despite favorable preclinical trials. BresaGen Ltd. and British Biotech plc abandoned a...

OGS gains European approval, partner for Gaucher's product.
July 31, 2002... LONDON -- Oxford GlycoSciences plc said Friday it received approval in Europe for Vevesca, an oral treatment for Gaucher's disease that was turned down by the FDA on June 24. The company also announced a marketing and distribution agreement...

European Union agrees to rules on Biotech risk assessment.
July 31, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union has finally agreed to new guidelines on risk assessment for biotechnology products. The guidelines are intended to counter potential adverse effects on human health and the environment. They aim to...

Ganymed oversubscribed in 10 million [euro] first round.
July 31, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG has beaten a difficult funding climate in Germany and secured 8.85 million [euro] of venture financing in a first-round placement. Additional public sector grants and concessions brought the...