BioWorld International articles from July 2005

BioWorld International archives from July 2005

Arrow out-licenses RSV drug to Novartis for up to $227m.(Arrow Therapeutics Ltd.'s licensing deal with Novartis Pharma AG)
July 7, 2005... LONDON -- Arrow Therapeutics Ltd. landed its first deal, licensing A-60444, a small-molecule inhibitor of respiratory syncytial virus, to Novartis Pharma AG for a $10 million down payment and $217 million linked to development milestones,...

Vernalis growing through 12.5m [pounds sterling] Ionix acquisition.
July 7, 2005... LONDON -- Vernalis plc is acquiring Ionix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in an all-share deal that values the privately held ion channel specialist at 12.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$21.9 million). The move gives Vernalis access to IX-1003,...

Probiotics might have use in irritable bowel syndrome.
July 7, 2005... LONDON -- The idea that people with inflammatory bowel diseases could be treated by eating yogurt containing a particular variety of Lactobacillus is an appealing one--and new research by scientists in France, Belgium and Germany suggests that...

Paradigm scores big with two pharma agreements.
July 7, 2005... LONDON -- Paradigm Therapeutics Ltd. proved the value of its mouse genome target factory, signing its first two deals with big-name pharma partners. The larger agreement, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., is worth $18 million per...

Acrongenomics Inc.(inroduces Nano-JETA Real Time PCR Pilot kits)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Acrongenomics Inc., of Athens, Greece, launched its Nano-JETA Real Time PCR Pilot kits for DNA/RNA quantification with the use of beta-globin and Ep-CAM gene, respectively. The Real Time PCR delivers quantitative detection of nucleic acids from...

Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said its Daxas (roflumilast) collaboration with Pfizer Inc., of New York, was mutually terminated.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said its Daxas (roflumilast) collaboration with Pfizer Inc., of New York, was mutually terminated. As a result, Pfizer returned all rights to the phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor to Altana, which will...

AnalytiCon Discovery GmbH, of Potsdam, Germany, entered an alliance with Evolva Biotech SA, of Allschwil, Switzerland, to generate and optimize nuclear receptor agonists and related compounds.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... AnalytiCon Discovery GmbH, of Potsdam, Germany, entered an alliance with Evolva Biotech SA, of Allschwil, Switzerland, to generate and optimize nuclear receptor agonists and related compounds. Evolva will create and optimize the agonists, while...

Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said the second Phase III induction trial of Tysabri (natalizumab).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said the second Phase III induction trial of Tysabri (natalizumab) in moderately to severely active Crohn's disease in patients with evidence of active inflammation...

Cellectis SA, of Paris, signed a license agreement with Xenogen Biosciences Corp., a subsidiary of Alameda, Calif.-based Xenogen Corp., granting it nonexclusive worldwide rights to its patented process covering the specific replacement or insertion of a gene in a eukaryotic genome.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Cellectis SA, of Paris, signed a license agreement with Xenogen Biosciences Corp., a subsidiary of Alameda, Calif.-based Xenogen Corp., granting it nonexclusive worldwide rights to its patented process covering the specific replacement or...

Cenix BioScience GmbH.(Other News To Note)(will collaborate with the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Cenix BioScience GmbH, of Dresden, Germany, and the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal, initiated a collaboration to identify human genes required for the malaria infection process, using systematic genome-scale RNAi screening....

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Stragen Pharma SA, of Geneva, entered an alliance to develop Ceflatonin, ChemGenex's lead cancer therapeutic.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Stragen Pharma SA, of Geneva, entered an alliance to develop Ceflatonin, ChemGenex's lead cancer therapeutic. ChemGenex will be responsible for its global clinical development and...

Chronogen Inc., of Montreal, and Inpharzam Richerche, of Taverne, Switzerland, a subsidiary of Zambon SpA, entered a research and development agreement to identify small molecules for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases induced by oxidative damage and/or lipid disorders.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Chronogen Inc., of Montreal, and Inpharzam Richerche, of Taverne, Switzerland, a subsidiary of Zambon SpA, entered a research and development agreement to identify small molecules for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases...

Eporgen Venture SpA.(investments in start-up biotechnology industries)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Eporgen Venture SpA, of Turin, Italy, said it is providing the bulk of private capital for six start-up companies as result of a joint project called Discovery, carried out with Bioindustry Park Canavese SpA. Investments totaled 3 million...

Evotec AG.(Other News To Note)(appointed Tim Tasker as executive vice president )(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, appointed Tim Tasker executive vice president for clinical development. Tasker will lead the company's clinical development activities. He comes from GlaxoSmithKline plc, where he was vice president global...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, added a fifth array product to its SpliceArray Service business unit with the addition of Cytokine SpliceArrays.

GeneMax Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, received its lead vaccine candidate, AdhTAP (OS-1) from its PER.C6 technology licensor and contract manufacturer, Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... GeneMax Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, received its lead vaccine candidate, AdhTAP (OS-1) from its PER.C6 technology licensor and contract manufacturer, Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands. The adenovirus construct has been optimized...

German Ministry for Education and Research.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... The German Ministry for Education and Research committed 10 million [euro] (US$1 1.9 million) to research the effects of plant resistance to antibiotics and herbicides brought about through genetic modifications. The funding will support 24...

GPC Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(phase I trial of satraplatin)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, began a Phase I trial of satraplatin, the company's lead candidate, in combination with Taxotere in patients with advanced solid tumors. Satraplatin already is in a Phase III trial for patients with...

Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, and the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, gained support from the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation for the development of a new prophylactic tuberculosis vaccine.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, and the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, gained support from the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation for the development of a new prophylactic tuberculosis vaccine. Aeras will fund the development...

KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, a developer of drugs for degenerative disorders of the central nervous system, closed an exclusive license agreement with Bayer Healthcare AG, of Leverkusen, Germany.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, a developer of drugs for degenerative disorders of the central nervous system, closed an exclusive license agreement with Bayer Healthcare AG, of Leverkusen, Germany. KeyNeurotek will proceed with the...

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)(Phase II trial of its Polyphenon E Ointment )(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said results of a Phase II trial of its Polyphenon E Ointment (15 percent) for the treatment of actinic keratosis, a precursor of skin cancer, showed that the drug demonstrated immunomodulatory properties,...

MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd.(Other News To Note)(enters collaboration with Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore )(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore entered a three-year drug discovery and development collaboration in which the institute will provide the company with a series of...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, reached a milestone in its research collaboration with The Genetics Co., of Zurich, Switzerland, by illuminating the structure of [beta]-secretase.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, reached a milestone in its research collaboration with The Genetics Co., of Zurich, Switzerland, by illuminating the structure of [beta]-secretase. The Genetics Co. is optimizing compounds that inhibit...

Neurochem International Ltd., of Ecublens, Switzerland, said the FDA agreed to file and review a new drug application for Fibrillex that would include efficacy and safety data from a single Phase II/III trial.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Neurochem International Ltd., of Ecublens, Switzerland, said the FDA agreed to file and review a new drug application for Fibrillex that would include efficacy and safety data from a single Phase II/III trial. The investigational product...

NeuroSolutions Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, and Sosei Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, said they identified a candidate for neuropathic pain, the result of a year-old collaboration that brought together Sosei's Drug Reprofiling Platform (DRP) and NeuroSolutions' drug activity assay platforms.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... NeuroSolutions Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, and Sosei Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, said they identified a candidate for neuropathic pain, the result of a year-old collaboration that brought together Sosei's Drug Reprofiling Platform (DRP) and...

NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, agreed to collaborate with Cypress Bioscience Inc., of San Diego, to develop and commercialize a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, agreed to collaborate with Cypress Bioscience Inc., of San Diego, to develop and commercialize a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. The collaboration will involve an enantiomer of mirtazapine, ORG 4419,...

Oxford BioMedica plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, said the patent office of the People's Republic of China granted two patents on its lentiviral gene vectors. The company plans to go ahead with commercializing the products in the Chinese market.

Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, is partnering with AgResearch Ltd., of Hamilton, New Zealand, on the production of recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, is partnering with AgResearch Ltd., of Hamilton, New Zealand, on the production of recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF). AgResearch, which will be responsible for the production of rhLF and will...

Pharmos Corp.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Pharmos Corp., with offices in Iselin, N.J., and Rehovot, Israel, reported the initiation of a clinical program to commercialize its NanoEmulsion drug delivery technology. The company plans to initiate a Phase I/II feasibility clinical trial...

Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, entered an agreement to acquire Nextal Biotechnology Inc., of Montreal, in exchange for $9.7 million in cash.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, entered an agreement to acquire Nextal Biotechnology Inc., of Montreal, in exchange for $9.7 million in cash. An additional consideration of about $4.5 million is subject to certain milestones. Nextal...

Sareum Holdings.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Sareum Holdings, of Cambridge, UK, reached a milestone in its collaboration with an unnamed UK central nervous disease system specialist, elucidating the 3-dimensional structure of a protein target in complex with drug and potential drug...

Tecan Schweiz AG, of Mannedorf, Switzerland, and BioDiscovery Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., entered a collaboration to offer a data-management solution to interpret and verify microarray results.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... Tecan Schweiz AG, of Mannedorf, Switzerland, and BioDiscovery Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., entered a collaboration to offer a data-management solution to interpret and verify microarray results. The collaboration is based on direct integration...

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA to initiate a trial in the U.S. with laquinimod to assess drug-drug interaction.(Other News To Note)
July 7, 2005... Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA to initiate a trial in the U.S. with laquinimod to assess drug-drug interaction. Laquinimod...

UK legislation.(Other News To Note)(laws introduce a new offense of harassment of a person)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... UK legislation to combat animal rights extremism has been enacted. The laws introduce a new offense of harassment of a person in his or her home, and give the police additional powers. It also becomes an offense to target any scientist,...

York Pharma plc.(York Pharma PLC, UK, received approval for a Phase II study of YP003 for the treatment of psoriasis)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2005... York Pharma plc, of Hitchin, UK, received approval for a Phase II study of YP003 for the treatment of psoriasis. Dosing in the Australian study will begin shortly and is expected to complete by the end of 2005. YP003 is topically applied and...

Speedel begins pivotal trial of SPP301 in diabetic nephropathy.
July 13, 2005... Four months after reporting positive results from a Phase IIb trial of its endothelin A receptor antagonist, SPP301, in diabetic nephropathy, Speedel Group AG initiated a pivotal Phase III study in Type II diabetes patients. The ASCENT...

ACE2 receptor is new drug target in SARS lung failure.(severe acute respiratory syndrome)
July 13, 2005... LONDON -- The receptor for the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus on mammalian cells is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), an international team of researchers working in Austria has found. The discovery has allowed the team to...

ReNeuron plans IPO, enters agreement with StemCells Inc.
July 13, 2005... LONDON -- ReNeuron Group plc announced it is going public again, raising 10 million [pounds sterling] on the junior market in London just two years after being forced to delist from the market by a funding crisis. The money will pay for...

French start-up Nokad gets undisclosed first financing.
July 13, 2005... PARIS -- Nokad, a French start-up founded in January 2004 that is developing its KO-Like animals for the biopharmaceutical industry, completed an initial funding round for an undisclosed amount. Nokad's CEO, Aymeric Dugray, told BioWorld...

SR Pharma buying Atugen for 6.2m [pounds sterling], raising money.
July 13, 2005... LONDON -- SR Pharma plc is acquiring Europe's leading RNAi specialist Atugen AG in a reverse takeover that values the German company at 6.2 million [pounds sterling] (US$10.8 million). It's also raising new money to fund the enlarged company...

Alizyme aligned with FDA for renzapride pivotal trial.
July 13, 2005... LONDON -- After prolonged negotiations, Alizyme plc reached agreement with the FDA under the special protocol assessment for a 1,700-subject pivotal Phase III trial of renzapride in treating constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome...

7TM Pharma.(research on Y receptor peptides for the treatment of obesity)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... 7TM Pharma, of Horsholm, Denmark, started Phase I/II trials with TM30338, derived from the company's platform of Y receptor peptides, for the treatment of obesity. TM30338 is designed to target two appetite suppressive receptors, and the...

Active Biotech AB.(offerings)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Active Biotech AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said its recent offering of SEK1 69 million (US$21.4 million) was oversubscribed by 43 percent, increasing the number of shares in the company to a total of 39.4 million. The first day of trading in the...

Astex Technology Ltd.(changes its name to Astex Therapeutics Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Astex Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, is changing its name to Astex Therapeutics Ltd. to reflect the advance of its lead product into Phase I trials.

Axaron Bioscience AG.(cytological research)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Axaron Bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, published positive results from its research in the effects of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF). The company's research showed that G-CSF previously has unrecognized activities in the...

Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oxxon Therapeutics Ltd., of Boston, signed a cross-licensing agreement, which provides Oxxon certain rights to Bavarian Nordic's recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) technology and Bavarian Nordic with access to Oxxon's PrimeBoost technology.(Other News To Note)
July 13, 2005... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oxxon Therapeutics Ltd., of Boston, signed a cross-licensing agreement, which provides Oxxon certain rights to Bavarian Nordic's recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) technology and Bavarian...

BioSyntech Inc., of Laval, Quebec, signed a letter of intent for Nicholas Piramal India Ltd., of Mumbai, India, to subscribe to 7.5 million of its common shares at a price of C$0.80 (US$0.66) per share.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... BioSyntech Inc., of Laval, Quebec, signed a letter of intent for Nicholas Piramal India Ltd., of Mumbai, India, to subscribe to 7.5 million of its common shares at a price of C$0.80 (US$0.66) per share. NPIL's post-issue shareholding will be...

Paion licenses stroke drug to Lundbeck in Europe, Asia.
July 13, 2005... Paion Deutschland GmbH stands to receive up to 65 million [euro] (US$78.5 million) in a deal that would allow H. Lundbeck A/S marketing rights to its plasminogen activator, Desmoteplase, to treat stroke patients in Europe and Asia. Paion...

BioXell SpA.(drug development on prostatic hyperplasia.)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... BioXell SpA, of Milan, Italy, moved BXL628 into a Phase IIb trial in benign prostatic hyperplasia. The study, which will be coordinated by the urology division at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, will enroll up to 500 patients across 60...

Bone Medical Ltd.(research)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Bone Medical Ltd., of Bentley, Western Australia, reported data demonstrating that its drug candidate, BN006, was effective in inhibiting expression of tumor necrosis factor, and caused dose-dependent inhibition of up to 100 percent. The...

Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, had news concerning two antibodies under collaboration with Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, had news concerning two antibodies under collaboration with Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md. HGS said that GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, exercised its option to...

Cytomics Systems.(cytological research)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Cytomics Systems, of Paris, identified a new generation of proteasome inhibitors that prevent the in vitro proliferation of cancer cells. The molecules act on the non-catalytic activities of the proteasome. Cytomics, which is specialized in the...

Euroscreen SA, of Brussels, Belgium, and ChemDiv Inc., of San Diego, are partnering to discover and develop drug candidates against a panel of chemokine receptors, a subset of G protein-coupled receptor targets involved in inflammation, immunomodulation and carcinogenesis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Euroscreen SA, of Brussels, Belgium, and ChemDiv Inc., of San Diego, are partnering to discover and develop drug candidates against a panel of chemokine receptors, a subset of G protein-coupled receptor targets involved in inflammation,...

EvoGenix Ltd.(opens initial public offerings)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... EvoGenix Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, opened its initial public offer to raise A$9 million (US$6.7 million) through the issue of 36 million shares at A25 cents in preparation for a mid-August listing on the Australian Stock Exchange. EvoGenix...

Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, entered a research collaboration under which its genomics partnering division, Galadeno, will design a research program for Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd., a division of Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, using the SilenceSelect platform for functional assays in human primary cell assays.(Other News To Note)
July 13, 2005... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, entered a research collaboration under which its genomics partnering division, Galadeno, will design a research program for Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd., a division of Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland,...

GPC Biotech AG.(combination drug development )(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... GPC Biotech AG, of Munich, Germany, said a Phase study evaluating its lead drug candidate, satraplatin, in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel) in patients with advanced solid tumors has opened for accrual. Satraplatin is in a Phase III...

JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH.(research agreements with Oregon Health and Science University)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH (JPT), of Berlin, began a collaboration with Oregon Health and Science University for discovery of T-cell epitopes aimed at accelerating the development of vaccines against tuberculosis. The partners will use the...

Meditech Research Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, signed a research and development collaboration agreement with Hyalose LLC, of Oklahoma City.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Meditech Research Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, signed a research and development collaboration agreement with Hyalose LLC, of Oklahoma City. Meditech and Hyalose will evaluate hyaluronic acid molecules of different sizes for their ability to...

Mesoblast Ltd.(contracts with Bank of New York)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Mesoblast Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, appointed the Bank of New York to establish and maintain a Level 1 American depository receipt program. Mesoblast is focused on treatments for orthopedic conditions, including the commercialization of an...

Millipore Corp., of Billerica, Mass., entered an agreement to acquire NovAseptic AB, of Gothenburg, Sweden, which provides solutions for aseptic processing applications for biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturing, for about SEK720 million (US$91 million).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Millipore Corp., of Billerica, Mass., entered an agreement to acquire NovAseptic AB, of Gothenburg, Sweden, which provides solutions for aseptic processing applications for biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturing, for about SEK720 million...

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(research agreements with Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington )(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand, expanded its agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington to develop the company's second compound, a neuroprotectant designated NNZ-2566, as a therapy for...

NicOx SA.(appoints Maarten Beekman and Ennio Ongini )(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, appointed Maarten Beekman vice president of clinical development and Stefano Biondi director of the research laboratories, as well as promoting Ennio Ongini to vice president of research (while remaining...

Pepscan Systems BV.(raises money)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Pepscan Systems BV, of Lelystad, the Netherlands, raised 5 million [euro] (US$6 million) in a first financing round by issuance of convertible notes to a group of investors from the Netherlands. The investment was led by PPM Oost NV. Other...

PRB Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and Lee's Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd., of Hong Kong, reported that Vietnam's Department of Animal Health will begin testing an animal version of VIRA 38 on their poultry flocks as part of a multinational avian influenza research collaboration.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... PRB Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and Lee's Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd., of Hong Kong, reported that Vietnam's Department of Animal Health will begin testing an animal version of VIRA 38 on their poultry flocks as part of a...

Scil Technology GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Scil Technology GmbH, of Martinsried, Germany, reported positive results from a proof-of-concept study for its lead orthopedic product, ST01. The product is a bone graft substitute, and the company said that its study had shown superior...

Transgene SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 13, 2005... Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, said its offering of shares and warrants raised a total of 34.9 million [euro] (US$42.1 million). The company sold about 4.7 million units at 7.50 [euro] each. Net proceeds of 32.6 million [euro] will be...

Arakis providing exit via 106.5m [pounds sterling] Sosei Acquisition.
July 20, 2005... LONDON -- Sosei Co Ltd. is taking over Arakis Ltd. for 106.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$187.4 million) in a cash-and-shares deal that creates an Anglo-Japanese company valued at 278 million [pounds sterling]. It will have a lead product...

Researchers find shared secrets of neglected parasitic diseases.
July 20, 2005... LONDON -- The genomes of three parasites spread to humans by three different types of insect are remarkably similar, scientists say. Astonishingly for parasites that have such different life styles and insect hosts, the three organisms, which...

Roche acquiring GlycArt through CHF235M buyout.
July 20, 2005... Roche Holding AG is acquiring GlycArt Biotechnology AG for about CHF235 million (US$180 million) in cash. In agreeing to the deal, which is slated to close in the third quarter, GlycArt has achieved a successful and--by the standards of the...

Veteran Stem Cell Company raises 6m [pounds sterling] on London's AIM.
July 20, 2005... LONDON -- Stem Cell Sciences plc completed its listing on the Alternative Investment Market in London, but had to settle for about 6 million [pounds sterling] (US$10.5 million) rather than the 10 million [pounds sterling] to 15 million [pounds...

Xention's third round gets 11m [pounds sterling] for ion channel drugs.
July 20, 2005... LONDON -- Xention Discovery Ltd. raised 11 million [pounds sterling] (US$19.3 million) in its third funding round, giving the ion channel specialist the means to start clinical trials of its lead product in the coming first quarter. Tim...

4SC AG.(Other News To Note)(completes fourth round of financing)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, completed its fourth round of financing, raising 6.5 million [euro] (US$7.9 million). The KfW Mittelstandsbank and Bayern Kapital participated in the second closing in June. The first closing occurred in...

Abingworth Management.(Other News To Note)(Abingworth Bioequities Fund)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Abingworth Management, of London, announced the initial $53 million closing of the Abingworth Bioequities Fund, its seventh life sciences fund and the first solely for investments in quoted stocks. The firm said funds will be invested in...

Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, began a Phase II trial of its MVA smallpox vaccine, MVA3000.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, began a Phase II trial of its MVA smallpox vaccine, MVA3000. Acambis is co-developing MVA3000 with its process development and manufacturing partner, Baxter Healthcare SA. MVA3000 is being developed for use in...

Active Biotech AB.(Other News To Note)(completes phase I study of lupus drug)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Active Biotech AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, completed its Phase I study in 30 healthy volunteers of its candidate 5757 for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, and the drug was well tolerated in all of the studied dose levels, both as a...

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., granted Eurogentec SA, of Liege, Belgium, a nonexclusive license to provide research products and services in RNA interference under the Kreutzer-Limmer patent family owned by Alnylam.(Other News To Note)
July 20, 2005... Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., granted Eurogentec SA, of Liege, Belgium, a nonexclusive license to provide research products and services in RNA interference under the Kreutzer-Limmer patent family owned by Alnylam. The...

Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, resolved all clinical and safety issues with the FDA and is ready to initiate a study with a Turkish pharmaceutical company, Nobel Ilac San. Ve Ticaret AS, Amarillo said.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, resolved all clinical and safety issues with the FDA and is ready to initiate a study with a Turkish pharmaceutical company, Nobel Ilac San. Ve Ticaret AS, Amarillo said. The study is expected to...

Ambion. Inc.(Other News To Note)(agreement with the MitoCheck consortium )(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Ambion Inc., of Austin, Texas, and Ambion Ltd., of Huntingdon, UK, formed an agreement with the MitoCheck consortium to provide a genome-wide siRNA library targeting every human gene. MitoCheck is a European Union-funded multinational research...

Arpida Ltd.(Other News To Note)(phase I trial of iclaprim)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Arpida Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said the FDA granted an investigational new drug application for the oral formulation of iclaprim, the company's second development program for the antibiotic product. Arpida will begin a Phase I trial to...

Cellectis SA, of Paris, signed a license agreement granting Ozgene Pty. Ltd., of Perth, Australia, a worldwide nonexclusive commercial license covering its patented process for the specific replacement or insertion of a gene in a eukaryotic genome.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Cellectis SA, of Paris, signed a license agreement granting Ozgene Pty. Ltd., of Perth, Australia, a worldwide nonexclusive commercial license covering its patented process for the specific replacement or insertion of a gene in a eukaryotic...

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Ceflatonin trials)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Menlo Park, Calif., reported its accelerated development plan for its lead cancer therapeutic, Ceflatonin (homoharringtonine, HHT). The initiation of the first of two...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and its contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Symphogen A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark.(Other News To Note)
July 20, 2005... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and its contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Symphogen A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark. The agreement allows Symphogen to...

Cytheris.(Other News To Note)(recombinant interleukin-7 trials)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... Cytheris, of Paris, launched two more Phase I trials of its lead compound, a recombinant interleukin-7, this time in HIV-infected patients. rIL-7 is a growth factor that helps rebuild the immune system and enhances the global and specific...

DNAPrint Genomics Inc., of Sarasota, Fla., said it acquired an 18 percent stake in Biofrontera AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, for 1.5 million [euro] (US$1.8 million).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
July 20, 2005... DNAPrint Genomics Inc., of Sarasota, Fla., said it acquired an 18 percent stake in Biofrontera AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, for 1.5 million [euro] (US$1.8 million). Two DNAPrint executives, Richard Gabriel and Hector Gomez, remain on the...