BioWorld International articles from July 2004

BioWorld International archives from July 2004

Cyclacel prepares for dual IPO: Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange.
July 7, 2004... LONDON -- Cyclacel Group plc announced a dual listing on Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange seeking 26.6 [pounds sterling] million (US$48 million) to charge development of the lead compound from its orally available cyclin dependent kinase...

Ancient family of antiviral genes points to potential HIV therapies.
July 7, 2004... LONDON -- A hitherto unknown system of innate immunity against viruses appears to be present in the human genome, several teams of researchers have suggested. The discovery, identified in the course of work to establish why retroviruses like...

Trying to open German Biotech market, Epigenomics seeks IPO.
July 7, 2004... MUNICH, Germany -- The initial public offering window for biotechnology companies in Germany might have opened. Epigenomics AG, of Berlin, is planning to sell 4.6 million new shares, or 29 percent of the company, on the Frankfurt Stock...

Italian Biotech start-up program receives international assistance.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... BioIndustry Park Canavese obtained assistance from three international biotechnology venture capital funds in selecting projects for a new initiative that aims to kick-start the formation of biotechnology start-ups in the Piedmont region in...

Compugen establishes Keddem Bioscience to mine drug targets.
July 7, 2004... ZICHRON YAAKOV, Israel -- Compugen Ltd. is relying on medical chemistry basics in establishing its new subsidiary, Keddem Bioscience Ltd. The independent company will focus on "a new design approach to small-molecule modulators for...

Australian Cancer Technology, of Sydney, Australia, signed a second material transfer agreement with New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Australian Cancer Technology, of Sydney, Australia, signed a second material transfer agreement with New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The agreement relates to the use of GPI-0100, the lead product of its Galenica...

Axxima Pharmaceuticals AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Axxima Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, closed its third private financing round, raising 10 million [euro], and bringing total investment in the company to 64 million [euro]. Axxima specializes in using kinase inhibitors to treat...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, said preclinical data published in the Journal of Virology detailed a new means of anti-integrase therapy involving styrylquinolines (SQLs). Investigators confirmed the target of SQLs by mutations evidenced in...

BioTie Therapies Oyj.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * BioTie Therapies Oyj, of Turku, Finland, obtained 1.4 million [euro] in funding commitments from Tekes, Finland's national technology agency, for its integrin research program. The company is seeking inhibitors for alpha-2 integrin for...

Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) in Cambridge, UK, and SciTegic Inc., of San Diego, reported the availability of integration components that allow CCDC's GOLD docking program to be accessed through SciTegic's data-pipelining software, Pipeline Pilot.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) in Cambridge, UK, and SciTegic Inc., of San Diego, reported the availability of integration components that allow CCDC's GOLD docking program to be accessed through SciTegic's data-pipelining...

Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd., of Petach-Tikva, Israel, began a Phase I trial of CF101 in the U.S. in patients with solid tumors. Researchers at three Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals will investigate combinations of CF101 with three...

CellFactors plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * CellFactors plc, of Cambridge, UK, achieved a 37-fold increase in the potency of its Skeletex bone-replacement cell lines, as assessed by industry-standard assays. Skeletex, derived from an immortalized human hypertrophic chondrocyte cell...

Combinature Biopharm AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Combinature Biopharm AG, of Berlin, secured 5.5 million [euro] in its second round of private financing. The company optimizes pharmaceuticals based on natural products for preclinical and clinical development. Combinature will use the...

DSM Nutritional Products Inc., of the Netherlands, published in its quarterly PUFA newsletter the benefits provided from long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) regarding cardiovascular and inflammatory function, certain types of cancer, and maternal and infant health.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * DSM Nutritional Products Inc., of the Netherlands, published in its quarterly PUFA newsletter the benefits provided from long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) regarding cardiovascular and inflammatory function, certain types...

Eiffel Technologies Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, signed an agreement with NanoMaterials Technology Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, to jointly develop new technology for use in re-engineering drugs.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Eiffel Technologies Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, signed an agreement with NanoMaterials Technology Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, to jointly develop new technology for use in re-engineering drugs. The companies will develop a hybrid technology...

Europroteome AG, of Berlin, entered a collaboration to evaluate approaches for molecular profiling of tissue specimens from cancer patients with Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Europroteome AG, of Berlin, entered a collaboration to evaluate approaches for molecular profiling of tissue specimens from cancer patients with Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany. Europroteome will use its collection of purified human...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering optimized microarrays for monitoring RNA-splicing events. Titled "Qualitative Differential Screening," the patent describes the various...

Flamel Technologies SA, of Lyon, France, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, will use Flamel's Micropump drug delivery technology in a Phase III trial of an undisclosed drug candidate.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Flamel Technologies SA, of Lyon, France, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, will use Flamel's Micropump drug delivery technology in a Phase III trial of an undisclosed drug candidate. Flamel declined to confirm that the drug concerned was...

Genedata AG, of Basel, Switzerland, expanded its collaboration with Altana Pharma, part of Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, to provide enterprise-wide scientific computing infrastructure for Altana's research programs in Constance, Germany, and Waltham, Mass.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Genedata AG, of Basel, Switzerland, expanded its collaboration with Altana Pharma, part of Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, to provide enterprise-wide scientific computing infrastructure for Altana's research programs in Constance,...

German government.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * The German government appointed Ulrich Kasparick parliamentary state secretary in the Ministry of Education and Research. As the second-ranking political leader of the ministry, Kasparick will play a role in setting the direction of German...

The German Research Center for Biotechnology (GBF) granted Zentaris GmbH, a subsidiary of Zentaris Inc., an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and market disorazoles, a class of natural products that GBF reports having anticancer potential.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * The German Research Center for Biotechnology (GBF) granted Zentaris GmbH, a subsidiary of Zentaris Inc., an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and market disorazoles, a class of natural products that GBF reports having...

GPC Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, priced its global offering at 12 [euro] (US$14.55) per American depository share, raising net proceeds of $95.3 million. The offering consisted of a rights offering to existing holders of GPC's shares;...

Healthcare Technologies Ltd., of Ashdod, Israel, plans to acquire Evanston, Ill.-based ImmvaRx Inc.'s allergy therapies business, issuing 350,000 shares, a two-year warrant to purchase up to 1 million shares of Healthcare and a 30-month warrant to be issued about 14.7 million ordinary shares of Healthcare.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Healthcare Technologies Ltd., of Ashdod, Israel, plans to acquire Evanston, Ill.-based ImmvaRx Inc.'s allergy therapies business, issuing 350,000 shares, a two-year warrant to purchase up to 1 million shares of Healthcare and a 30-month...

Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, and MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, said data related to palonosetron HCl (Onicit, Aloxi) were presented at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer meeting in Miami.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, and MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, said data related to palonosetron HCl (Onicit, Aloxi) were presented at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer meeting in Miami. Three...

HemeBiotech A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * HemeBiotech A/S, of Hillerod, Denmark, raised 15 million [euro] in new investment, 4.5 million [euro] of which it received immediately. The remainder will be provided through a consortium of investors, including current shareholders. In...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, appointed Guy-Charles Fanneau de la Horie vice president, director France. Fanneau de la Horie was previously VP of strategic commercial operations and general director of Biogen France, where he was...

Innogenetics NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Innogenetics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, was added by the European Euronext stock exchange in its Next 150 index of the next largest companies after those comprising the Euronext 100 index. Innogenetics is focused on theranostics.

Medical Research Council.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * The Medical Research Council funded a 18 million [pounds sterling] (US$33.1 million) mouse genomics center in Harwell, UK. The center will house up to 65,000 mice and will work on determining the function of mouse genes with relevance to...

Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, said Erbitux (cetuximab) received European approval for metastatic colorectal cancer.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, said Erbitux (cetuximab) received European approval for metastatic colorectal cancer. More specifically, the monoclonal antibody was licensed for use in combination with irinotecan for patients with...

Microscience Holdings plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Microscience Holdings plc, of Wokingham, UK, announced positive results in a 30 subject Phase I study of spi-VEC, an oral vaccine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infections. The vaccine was safe and immunogenic after one or two...

NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said its wholly owned subsidiary Azign Bioscience A/S and the diagnostics company Atonomics ApS, of Copenhagen, Denmark, agreed to merge.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said its wholly owned subsidiary Azign Bioscience A/S and the diagnostics company Atonomics ApS, of Copenhagen, Denmark, agreed to merge. Atonomics will acquire all shares of Azign, while NeuroSearch...

Nonlinear Dynamics, of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, said Proteomic Research Services Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., chose Progenesis Discovery to enhance its 2D electrophoresis capabilities.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Nonlinear Dynamics, of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, said Proteomic Research Services Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., chose Progenesis Discovery to enhance its 2D electrophoresis capabilities. Progenesis Discovery will form the core of PRS' prioteomic...

Norwood Abbey Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Norwood Abbey Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said all the options in the money expiring June 30 have been exercised, and the total amount received from the options' exercise is $10.1 million. As a result, cash holdings for the Norwood Abbey...

NsGene A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, received a $3 million grant from New York's Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its encapsulated cell therapy (ECT) technology in Parkinson's disease.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * NsGene A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, received a $3 million grant from New York's Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its encapsulated cell therapy (ECT) technology in Parkinson's disease. Ole Lindvall at Lund...

NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, and Grupo Uriach, of Barcelona, Spain, entered a global license agreement for the discovery and development of kinase inhibitors for anti-inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, and Grupo Uriach, of Barcelona, Spain, entered a global license agreement for the discovery and development of kinase inhibitors for anti-inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The alliance...

OctoPlus Technologies BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, granted Surmodics Inc., of Eden Prairie, Minn., an option to acquire an exclusive license to two classes of biodegradable polymers for use in the site-specific delivery of drugs from medical devices.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * OctoPlus Technologies BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, granted Surmodics Inc., of Eden Prairie, Minn., an option to acquire an exclusive license to two classes of biodegradable polymers for use in the site-specific delivery of drugs from...

Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, licensed exclusive worldwide rights to a LentiVector gene delivery technology to Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, licensed exclusive worldwide rights to a LentiVector gene delivery technology to Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla. The agreement allows Viragen to use the technology in its collaboration with the Roslin...

Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, and Forest Laboratories Inc., of New York, have agreed to jointly develop and market Paion's stroke product, desmoteplase, in the United States and Canada.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, and Forest Laboratories Inc., of New York, have agreed to jointly develop and market Paion's stroke product, desmoteplase, in the United States and Canada. The compound is undergoing Phase II trials and has the...

Peakdale Discovery Ltd., of Chapel-en-le-Frith, UK, agreed to collaborate with Cyprotex plc, of Macclesfield, UK. Cyprotex will use its in silico Cloe Screen technology to evaluate the absorption, distribution metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties of 8,500 compounds.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Peakdale Discovery Ltd., of Chapel-en-le-Frith, UK, agreed to collaborate with Cyprotex plc, of Macclesfield, UK. Cyprotex will use its in silico Cloe Screen technology to evaluate the absorption, distribution metabolism and excretion (ADME)...

Peplin Biotech Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said investigational new drug applications for PEP005 Topical were filed with the FDA by its development partner, Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2004... * Peplin Biotech Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said investigational new drug applications for PEP005 Topical were filed with the FDA by its development partner, Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif. The compound is a topical formulation of its lead...

Perigene Inc., of Compeigne, France, entered an agreement to sell antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) to ProtoKinetix Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Perigene Inc., of Compeigne, France, entered an agreement to sell antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) to ProtoKinetix Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia. AFGP is a natural compound that enables fish, reptiles and insects to survive freezing...

Pharminox Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Pharminox Ltd., of Oxford, UK, raised 1.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$2.7 million) in a second funding round to further develop its small-molecule cancer drugs. The company was spun out of Oxford University in 2002 to commercialize...

Provalis plc, of Deeside, UK, entered an option agreement with Chiron Vaccines, a unit of Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Provalis plc, of Deeside, UK, entered an option agreement with Chiron Vaccines, a unit of Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif. Chiron was granted an initial 12-month exclusive option (extendable by another 12 months on payment of a fee) to...

Qiagen NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, sold its synthetic DNA business to a management team previously employed at the company for $24.3 million in cash and in the form of a promissory note. Qiagen will retain a 16 percent stake in the new...

Swedish International Development Agency and the World Health Organization's office in Beijing signed an agreement under which SIDA will fund a three-year WHO project on HIV/AIDS prevention and care in China.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Swedish International Development Agency and the World Health Organization's office in Beijing signed an agreement under which SIDA will fund a three-year WHO project on HIV/AIDS prevention and care in China. SIDA committed $3.3 million to...

TopoTarget A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and CuraGen Corp., of New Haven, Conn., began a Phase I trial of PXD101 in patients with hematologic cancer and solid-tumor cancers.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * TopoTarget A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and CuraGen Corp., of New Haven, Conn., began a Phase I trial of PXD101 in patients with hematologic cancer and solid-tumor cancers. The trial complements the ongoing Phase I study in cancer patients...

Transgene SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2004... * Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, manufactured clinical lots of HIV vaccine candidates in the frame of Eurovac (European Vaccine Effort Against HIV/AIDS), a European cluster of 21 laboratories, funded since 2000 by the European Union under...

Microscience pulls IPO; firms in UK struggle with valuations.
July 14, 2004... LONDON -- Microscience Ltd. pulled its 40 million [pounds sterling] (US$74.5 million) initial public offering on London's Alternative Investment Market after refusing to compromise on a 120 million [pounds sterling] to 140 million [pounds...

Novartis pays Speedel Milestone, invests through equity position.
July 14, 2004... The progress of Aliskiren, an oral renin inhibitor in development for hypertension, triggered an undisclosed milestone payment from Novartis AG to The Speedel Group, while Novartis also decided to take an equity position in Speedel. ...

Nerve regeneration clues taken from cancer Gene's double life.
July 14, 2004... LONDON -- A gene known to play a role in cancer development could hold the key to new treatments for nerve injury. The gene, which encodes a protein called c-Jun, is present at high levels in certain types of tumors--but damaged nerve cells...

EU platform to add Biotech's benefits to chemical industry.(EU Roundup)
July 14, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biotechnology sector last week launched a European Union-backed platform combining its strengths with the chemical industry. "Today we recognize that there are several life science revolutions taking place...

Metabolic pays for research note; stock price rises, falls.
July 14, 2004... SYDNEY, Australia -- Investors learning of a favorable research report on Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. pushed the share price up sharply last week, but the stock promptly slumped when the company revealed that it had paid 100,000 options for...

Amarin Corp. plc, of London, signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Laxdale Ltd., of Stirling, Scotland.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Amarin Corp. plc, of London, signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Laxdale Ltd., of Stirling, Scotland. The neuroscience development company's pipeline includes programs in Huntington's disease, treatment-unresponsive...

Avidis SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Avidis SA, of Clermont-Ferrand, France, raised 1.5 million [euro] from CHP, a private venture capital fund based in the same city, after completing an initial funding round in late 2002 in which it raised 1.7 million [euro]. Avidis uses a...

With positive Mycograb data, NeuTec planning fund raising.
July 14, 2004... LONDON -- NeuTec Pharma plc announced positive results from a Phase II/III study of Mycograb in treating systemic candidiasis infections and said it will file for approval in Europe. The company plans to raise 20 [pounds sterling] to 25...

Benitec Ltd., of Queensland, Australia, and Promega Corp., of Madison, Wis., granted a worldwide nonexclusive research license to Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., to practice DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) technology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Benitec Ltd., of Queensland, Australia, and Promega Corp., of Madison, Wis., granted a worldwide nonexclusive research license to Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., to practice DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) technology. The commercial...

BioMerieux SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * BioMerieux SA, of Lyon, France, now is listed on the Premier Marche of the Euronext stock exchange in Paris, following the initial public offering it launched in late June. The offering priced at 30 [euro] per share, toward the top end of the...

Bionomics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, entered a research collaboration focused on its animal model of epilepsy with the University of Wisconsin Medical School. The mouse model exhibits epileptic seizures similar to those found in humans....

Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, signed a research services agreement concerning the generation of RNAi-modified transgenic mice for the in vivo functional analysis of selected disease-related genes.(Other News To Note)
July 14, 2004... * Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, signed a research services agreement concerning the generation of RNAi-modified transgenic mice for the in vivo functional analysis of selected...

CJ Corp., of South Korea, received regulatory approval from the Korea Food and Drug Administration for Hextend, a product from licensing partner BioTime Inc., of Berkeley, Calif.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * CJ Corp., of South Korea, received regulatory approval from the Korea Food and Drug Administration for Hextend, a product from licensing partner BioTime Inc., of Berkeley, Calif. Hextend is blood plasma volume expander. BioTime received a...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, achieved the first development milestone in their protein-production collaboration.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, achieved the first development milestone in their protein-production collaboration. The alliance signed in December 2002 combines...

Dompe International SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and AltaRex Medical Corp., of Edmonton, Alberta, signed an exclusive distribution agreement for AltaRex's lead product OvaRex MAb.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Dompe International SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and AltaRex Medical Corp., of Edmonton, Alberta, signed an exclusive distribution agreement for AltaRex's lead product OvaRex MAb. The covered territory includes Italy, Spain, Portugal,...

Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, completed the sale of its worldwide rights to Myobloc/Neurobloc (botulinum toxin Type B) injectable solution to the new company Solstice Neurosciences Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, completed the sale of its worldwide rights to Myobloc/Neurobloc (botulinum toxin Type B) injectable solution to the new company Solstice Neurosciences Inc. The sale includes related intellectual property,...

Fujitsu Ltd.(Other News To Note)(National Institute of Genetics)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Fujitsu Ltd., of Tokyo, and the National Institute of Genetics, also known as Idenken, agreed to collaborate on developing a next-generation database system. Idenken and Fujitsu plan to position it as the de facto standard for the field. The...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, said the European Commission granted its product Mepact orphan medicinal product designation for the treatment of osteosarcoma. Designation was granted following the positive opinion given by the...

International Technology Cooperation Network.(Other News To Note)(and the Frankfurt Innovation Center for Biotechnology signed an agreement with the Indian state of Karnataka )(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * The International Technology Cooperation Network in Germany and the Frankfurt Innovation Center for Biotechnology signed an agreement with the Indian state of Karnataka to facilitate establishing subsidiaries or joint ventures in the state,...

IsoTis OrthoBiologics SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * IsoTis OrthoBiologics SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, said Phase II data of its chronic wound treatment product Allox demonstrated complete wound closure in 45 percent of patients, compared with 33.3 percent of controls. The study enrolled 1 10...

Jerini AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Jerini AG, of Berlin, said the FDA granted orphan drug status to Icatibant, the company's bradykinin receptor antagonist, for the treatment of edema in severe burn patients. Edema is a complication in burn patients with more than 20 percent...

Laboratories Del Dr. Esteve SA, of Barcelona, Spain, received import authorization for Ampligen, which is partnered with Hemispherx Biopharma Inc., of Philadelphia, to conduct a clinical trial in patients coinfected with hepatitis C and HIV viruses.(Other News To Note)
July 14, 2004... * Laboratories Del Dr. Esteve SA, of Barcelona, Spain, received import authorization for Ampligen, which is partnered with Hemispherx Biopharma Inc., of Philadelphia, to conduct a clinical trial in patients coinfected with hepatitis C and HIV...

Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, selected Chemical Diversity Labs Inc., of San Diego, as its preferred provider of screening libraries of lead-like small compounds through 2006.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, selected Chemical Diversity Labs Inc., of San Diego, as its preferred provider of screening libraries of lead-like small compounds through 2006. A steering committee with representatives from both companies...

Mologen AG, of Berlin, licensed its dSLIM-based product, DNABarrier II, to Starvax Inc., of Peking, China.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Mologen AG, of Berlin, licensed its dSLIM-based product, DNABarrier II, to Starvax Inc., of Peking, China. The product is one of three applications in development based on Mologen's dSLIM immune-modulation technologies. The agreement between...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, appointed Sijmen de Vries CEO.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, appointed Sijmen de Vries CEO. De Vries was most recently head of global business development and licensing for Novartis Ophthalmics. He succeeds Lutz Weber, who had been both acting CEO and chief scientific...

MWG Biotech AG, of Ebersberg, Germany, said it will engage in the worldwide distribution of the ExpressArt product line of mRNA amplification kits (excluding Great Britain, Japan and Switzerland), starting in September.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * MWG Biotech AG, of Ebersberg, Germany, said it will engage in the worldwide distribution of the ExpressArt product line of mRNA amplification kits (excluding Great Britain, Japan and Switzerland), starting in September. Kits for the...

Novogen Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Novogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, began a second clinical trial to evaluate its cardiovascular drug, trans-NV-04. The company called the compound an advanced version of its experimental NV-04 compound. In the study, trans-NV-04 will be...

Nycomed Group, of Roskilde, Denmark, provided notice that it is terminating a recently reported license agreement with San Diego-based Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., its development partner for Oxygent in the European Union.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Nycomed Group, of Roskilde, Denmark, provided notice that it is terminating a recently reported license agreement with San Diego-based Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., its development partner for Oxygent in the European Union. Nycomed's...

Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, granted Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla., exclusive worldwide rights to a LentiVector gene delivery technology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, granted Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla., exclusive worldwide rights to a LentiVector gene delivery technology. The agreement allows Viragen to use the technology in its collaboration with the Roslin...

Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, and Forest Laboratories Inc., of New York, entered an agreement for the U.S. and Canadian development and marketing of Paion's desmoteplase.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, and Forest Laboratories Inc., of New York, entered an agreement for the U.S. and Canadian development and marketing of Paion's desmoteplase. The blood clot-dissolving agent is under development in the U.S. and...

PamGene International BV.(Other News To Note)(Nottingham University )(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * PamGene International BV, of s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, licensed its 3-D Flow-Through Microarray Platform to Nottingham University in England. The license, which includes the sale of a PamGene 4-array PamStation, will enable the...

Probiodrug AG, of Halle, Germany, sold a platform of Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DP-IV) technology to Prosidion Ltd., of Oxford, UK, for $35 million, plus additional milestone payments if clinical candidate P93/01 is successfully developed.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Probiodrug AG, of Halle, Germany, sold a platform of Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DP-IV) technology to Prosidion Ltd., of Oxford, UK, for $35 million, plus additional milestone payments if clinical candidate P93/01 is successfully developed....

Recalcine Farmaceutica SA, of Santiago, Chile, and Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., of Waltham, Mass., entered an agreement to develop, manufacture and market a range of aquatic veterinary vaccines, antimicrobial agents and diagnostic products targeted to infective species and strains specific to South America.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Recalcine Farmaceutica SA, of Santiago, Chile, and Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., of Waltham, Mass., entered an agreement to develop, manufacture and market a range of aquatic veterinary vaccines, antimicrobial agents and diagnostic products...

Schwarz Pharma AG, of Monheim, Germany, said findings from a multinational Phase IIb trial of rotigotine for restless legs syndrome produced a statistically significant and clinically relevant reduction of symptoms.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Schwarz Pharma AG, of Monheim, Germany, said findings from a multinational Phase IIb trial of rotigotine for restless legs syndrome produced a statistically significant and clinically relevant reduction of symptoms. The company, which...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said the second subgroup of 14 volunteers in Phase I trials of its SARS vaccine received their first inoculation two weeks ago and blood tests have shown there are no adverse reactions to date. The first four...

SkyePharma plc and AstraZeneca plc, both of London, completed Phase III trials of a new version of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort (budesonide), an inhaled corticosteroid for asthma.(Other News To Note)
July 14, 2004... * SkyePharma plc and AstraZeneca plc, both of London, completed Phase III trials of a new version of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort (budesonide), an inhaled corticosteroid for asthma. The metered-dose aerosol inhaler (MDI) uses a hydrofluoroalkane...

Strand Genomics Pvt. Ltd., of Bangalore, India, and the CombiMatrix Group of Acacia Research Corp., of Newport Beach, Calif., entered a co-marketing agreement to market avadis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2004... * Strand Genomics Pvt. Ltd., of Bangalore, India, and the CombiMatrix Group of Acacia Research Corp., of Newport Beach, Calif., entered a co-marketing agreement to market avadis, a data analysis software tool for microarray gene expression....