BioWorld International articles from July 2008

BioWorld International archives from July 2008

EU drug development slowdown due to biotech complexity?
July 2, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- There is a slowdown in the volume of useful new drugs on the European market, and biotech is in part to blame, according to the leading European pharmaceutical industry association. "The biotech revolution, while...

Alizyme, Norgine team up in $67M marketing deal.(Ulcerative Colitis the Target)
July 2, 2008... LONDON -- Alizyme plc landed the speciality pharma company Norgine BV as a European marketing partner for Colal-Pred, its treatment for ulcerative colitis. The deal has a headline value of 42.75 million [euro] (US$67.4 million), of which 2...

Blood vessel growth blocker could be used to starve tumors.
July 2, 2008... LONDON -- Additional therapies to inhibit the growth of tumors by preventing the growth of new blood vessels may be available in the clinic within 10 years, a new scientific study suggested. An international team of researchers, led by Kari...

Short of money and time, Ardana Biosciences dies.
July 2, 2008... LONDON -- Another of the UK's biotechs hit the dust as Ardana Biosciences Plc suspended trading in its shares and called in the administrators. Trading in the Edinburgh, Scotland-based company's shares was suspended June 27 after it became...

Patent infringement claim filed against Oxford Biomedica.
July 2, 2008... Shares in Oxford Biomedica plc dropped about 10 percent Tuesday on news that Bavarian Nordic A/S had filed a patent infringement suit in California, alleging that the UK firm infringed its modified Vaccinia ankara (MVA) patents. Kvistgard,...

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said it has obtained regulatory approval from Health Canada for Zeftera (ceftobiprole), a first-in-class anti-MRSA broad-spectrum cephalosporin, to treat complicated skin and soft tissue infections, including diabetic foot infections.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said it has obtained regulatory approval from Health Canada for Zeftera (ceftobiprole), a first-in-class anti-MRSA broad-spectrum cephalosporin, to treat complicated skin and soft tissue...

Oxford profs found Celleron to scope tumor sensitivity.(Company overview)
July 2, 2008... LONDON -- Celleron Therapeutics Ltd. has been founded by two Oxford University professors to commercialize CancerNav, a technology platform that can predict tumor sensitivity to new and existing drugs, and in parallel apply that to the...

Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, filed a patent infringement suit against Oxford, UK-based Oxford Biomedica plc in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, filed a patent infringement suit against Oxford, UK-based Oxford Biomedica plc in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California. Bavarian Nordic claims that Oxford Biomedica infringed...

Cisbio Bioassays.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 2, 2008... Cisbio Bioassays, of Bagnols-sur-Ceze, France, reported findings from its R&D collaboration with the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at the Institute of Functional Genomics (IGF) focused on the structural organization of G-protein coupled...

Immutep reports positive results from LAG-3 immunotherapy.(Financial report)
July 2, 2008... Immutep SA, of Orsay, France, said research conducted by Cell Genesys Inc., of South San Francisco, indicated that a lymphocyte activation gene-3 fusion protein increases the potency of a granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor...

Ascenion adds Protectimmun to its investment portfolio.
July 2, 2008... Ascenion GmbH gained a minority stake in an early stage drug developer Protectimmun GmbH, bringing to 14 the number of companies in which the Munich, Germany-based IP asset management holds equity. Ascenion gained the position in Bochum,...

Compugen Ltd.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, said it has made a discovery and experimental confirmation of a novel combination of four biomarkers for early detection of drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Data demonstrated that the biomarker signature may...

DuoCort Pharma AB.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... DuoCort Pharma AB, of Helsingborg, Sweden, said the FDA has granted an orphan drug designation for the company's DuoCort hydrocortisone dual-release oral tablet in development for the treatment of adrenal insufficiency--the inability of the...

Geneart AG, of Regensburg, Germany, and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, signed a technology and sales collaboration, under which BI technology will transfer to Geneart for the production and purification of plasmid DNA.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Geneart AG, of Regensburg, Germany, and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, signed a technology and sales collaboration, under which BI technology will transfer to Geneart for the production and purification of plasmid DNA. The...

Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it reached a development milestone for ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) under its 2006 collaboration with London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc, triggering a payment of about DKK29 million (US$6.1 million).(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it reached a development milestone for ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) under its 2006 collaboration with London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc, triggering a payment of about DKK29 million (US$6.1 million). That...

Genopole.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Genopole, of Evry, France, signed a partnership agreement with Coface, France's foreign trade insurance company, to provide insurance coverage to young biotech companies that want to find foreign markets for their products or services. Pointing...

Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 2, 2008... Heptares Therapeutics Ltd., of London, said that research studies have been published in Nature describing the detailed structure of the beta-1 adrenergic receptor, also known as the adrenaline stress hormone receptor. The approach used by the...

Hybrigenics SA, of Paris, has entered into a collaboration in which it will incorporate the DUALmembrane yeast two-hybrid technology from Dualsystems, of Schlieren, Switzerland, in its own platform.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Hybrigenics SA, of Paris, has entered into a collaboration in which it will incorporate the DUALmembrane yeast two-hybrid technology from Dualsystems, of Schlieren, Switzerland, in its own platform. The DUALmembrane system is for screening...

Intellect Neurosciences Inc., of New York, and MRC Technology, of London, said they achieved a milestone through their collaborative efforts to humanize Intellect's lead antibody, IN-N01, in Alzheimer's disease.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Intellect Neurosciences Inc., of New York, and MRC Technology, of London, said they achieved a milestone through their collaborative efforts to humanize Intellect's lead antibody, IN-N01, in Alzheimer's disease. INN01 is designed to promote...

IonGate Biosciences, of Munich, Germany, and Artel, of Westbrook, Maine, said IonGate will use Artel's infrastructure, customer relationships and market knowledge to increase its discovery systems and assay development services in North America.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... IonGate Biosciences, of Munich, Germany, and Artel, of Westbrook, Maine, said IonGate will use Artel's infrastructure, customer relationships and market knowledge to increase its discovery systems and assay development services in North...

Ipsogen SA.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Ipsogen SA, of Marseille, France, said its JAK2 tests for myeloproliferative disorders received CE marking in Europe, allowing their use beyond research-only purposes. The tests are designed to enable the identification and quantification of...

MedCell Bioscience Ltd., of London, and NovaThera Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, are merging.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 2, 2008... MedCell Bioscience Ltd., of London, and NovaThera Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, are merging. The combined entity, which will continue to trade under the MedCell Bioscience name, will have a post-merger valuation of about 30 million [pounds sterling]...

Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, expanded its agreement with Orion Corp., of Espoo, Finland, to include exclusive marketing and sales rights for Paclical Vet in all European countries.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, expanded its agreement with Orion Corp., of Espoo, Finland, to include exclusive marketing and sales rights for Paclical Vet in all European countries. Altogether, the deal amounts to about 10...

Pharminox Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 2, 2008... Pharminox Ltd., of Nottingham, UK, said it completed a round of equity funding, raising slightly more than 2 million [pounds sterling] (US$4 million) from new and existing investors. Proceeds will be used to advance the company's portfolio of...

Photocure ASA, of Oslo, Norway, said that Metvixia in combination with Aktilite CL128, the LED-based narrow band (630 nm) red-light technology device, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of actinic keratosis, a precancerous skin lesion.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Photocure ASA, of Oslo, Norway, said that Metvixia in combination with Aktilite CL128, the LED-based narrow band (630 nm) red-light technology device, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of actinic keratosis, a precancerous skin...

ProStrakan plc.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... ProStrakan plc, of Lalshiels, Scotland, said the European Union's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a positive opinion for its Abstral cancer pain product. A positive opinion is the prelude to formal European approval....

ReNeuron plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 2, 2008... ReNeuron plc, of Guildford, UK, was offered a lifeline by existing investors, which made 2.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$4.98 million) available to the company by subscribing for a series of secured loan notes. Awal Bank and Merlin...

Rosetta Genomics Ltd.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Rosetta Genomics Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and Jersey City, N.J., announced a collaboration with the Rabin Medical Center in Israel to develop microRNA-based diagnostics in the fields of oncology, gynecology and obstetrics. The collaboration...

Scil Proteins Production GmbH, of Halle, Germany, closed a protein production deal with Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., under which Roche will transfer technology and know-how for the production of recombinant plasminogen activator, the active ingredient of Rapilysin for acute myocardial infarction, to Scil.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Scil Proteins Production GmbH, of Halle, Germany, closed a protein production deal with Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., under which Roche will transfer technology and know-how for the production of recombinant plasminogen...

Symansis, of Auckland, New Zealand, has purchased Apollo Cytokine Research, of Sydney, Australia, for A$500,000 (US$479,602).(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Symansis, of Auckland, New Zealand, has purchased Apollo Cytokine Research, of Sydney, Australia, for A$500,000 (US$479,602). Apollo develops cell proteins that are made by a process using a human cell line and purification techniques to avoid...

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Cork, Ireland, said the Committee for Human Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion for approval of its HIV medication Intelence (etravirine) in the EU. Etravirine is a...

Trinity Biotech plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said it has been appointed by Thorofare, N.J.-based Akers Biosciences Inc. as a distributor of its PIFA Heparin/Platelet Factor-4 Rapid Assay in the U.S. and German markets.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Trinity Biotech plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said it has been appointed by Thorofare, N.J.-based Akers Biosciences Inc. as a distributor of its PIFA Heparin/Platelet Factor-4 Rapid Assay in the U.S. and German markets. The test detects the presence...

UCB SA.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for lacosamide--proposed trade name Vimpat--as an adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures with or without secondary...

Worldiscoveries, of London, and Nanocopeia Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., which signed a cardiovascular joint venture partnership last week, broadened the agreement to codevelop the biomedical uses of arborescent polyisobutylene-based block copolymers.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... Worldiscoveries, of London, and Nanocopeia Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., which signed a cardiovascular joint venture partnership last week, broadened the agreement to co-develop the biomedical uses of arborescent polyisobutylene-based block...

WuXi PharmaTech, of Shanghai, China, and Covance Inc., of Princeton, N.J., entered into a memorandum of understanding to create a 50-50 joint venture to provide world-class preclinical contract research services in China.(Other News To Note)
July 2, 2008... WuXi PharmaTech, of Shanghai, China, and Covance Inc., of Princeton, N.J., entered into a memorandum of understanding to create a 50-50 joint venture to provide world-class preclinical contract research services in China. Operations will be...

European biotech industry sets out tough agenda.(Industry overview)
July 9, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biotech industry is facing a long list of unmet priority tasks, according to its just-released 2008 annual report. Despite the report's confident opening assertion that "biotechnology is growing from...

Shire paying Jerini $519m for HAE compound Firazyr.
July 9, 2008... LONDON -- Shire Ltd. is buying Jerini AG in a cash deal valuing the German company at 328 million [euro] (US$519 million) to acquire Firazyr, (Icatibant) a treatment for hereditary angioedema (HAE), which is due to be launched in Europe by the...

SkyPharma's Flutiform meets endpoint in 3rd phase III trial.
July 9, 2008... LONDON -- SkyePharma plc is nearing the end of the long development program for Flutiform, reporting the asthma treatment met its primary endpoint in a third Phase III clinical trial and that a fourth and final trial will be fully recruited...

Study boosts serotonin theory for crib death.(Report)
July 9, 2008... LONDON -- Genetically altered mice that have abnormal control of serotonin metabolism in their brains may provide clues to the causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Studies of the genetically modified mice suggested that deficits...

Cellectis, Regeneron settle licensing disagreement.($12.4m Up-front Payment)
July 9, 2008... PARIS -- Cellectis SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. signed a technology licensing agreement giving the U.S. company rights to the use of Cellectis' patents covering certain uses of homologous recombination for the generation of innovative...

ABL Patent Licensing Technologies SARL, a subsidiary of Advanced Biological Laboratories SA, of Luxembourg, Belgium, entered a patent licensing agreement with Viralliance Inc., of Paris.(Other News to Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... ABL Patent Licensing Technologies SARL, a subsidiary of Advanced Biological Laboratories SA, of Luxembourg, Belgium, entered a patent licensing agreement with Viralliance Inc., of Paris. ABL has granted a nonexclusive, royalty-bearing license...

Alsace BioValley.(Other News to Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... Alsace BioValley, of Strasbourg, France, is constructing a new building to house the Center for Integrative Biology as well as a platform center serving research and industry. The project will be piloted by the Alsace Region and aims to provide...

Anadis Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... Anadis Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, received an 18-month $500,000 product development grant for its cancer-related alimentary mucositis project from the VISTECH binational fund established by the Government of Victoria in Australia and the...

Arysta LifeScience Corp., of Tokyo, said it has completed the acquisition of Callietha Investments, the parent company of the Durban, South Africa-based Volcano Cos.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Arysta LifeScience Corp., of Tokyo, said it has completed the acquisition of Callietha Investments, the parent company of the Durban, South Africa-based Volcano Cos. As a result, Arysta now holds sole ownership of Volcano, which includes...

ExonHit attacking Alzheimer's in therapeutic, diagnostics.
July 9, 2008... PARIS -- ExonHit Therapeutics SA is to provide an update on its therapeutic and diagnostic programs in the field of Alzheimer's disease at the ICAD (International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease) 2008 conference to be held in Chicago July...

Biomethodes.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... Biomethodes, of Evry, France, has signed an exclusive and worldwide option-to-license agreement with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. for multiple technologies for converting biomass to bioethanol and biohydrogen. An integrated...

MediGene's RhuDex on hold after death of trial volunteer.
July 9, 2008... MediGene AG has put a hold on a Phase I trial of its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug RhuDex, following the death of the one of the study participants at Charles River Laboratories, Inc., a clinical testing unit near Edinburgh, Scotland....

Cenix BioScience GmbH, of Dresden, Germany, has initiated a second target validation project under a prior research agreement with CellCentric Ltd., of Cambridge, UK.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Cenix BioScience GmbH, of Dresden, Germany, has initiated a second target validation project under a prior research agreement with CellCentric Ltd., of Cambridge, UK. In the new project, candidate drug targets chosen by CellCentric will be...

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals, of Melbourne, Australia, submitted the nonclinical section of its rolling new drug application for omacetaxine mepesuccinate. The company is seeking FDA approval of the small-molecule Mcl-1 inhibitor for chronic...

Direvo Biotech AG, of Cologne, Germany, and Genencor Division, of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Danisco AS signed a second collaboration agreement.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Direvo Biotech AG, of Cologne, Germany, and Genencor Division, of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Danisco AS signed a second collaboration agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Danisco will obtain worldwide exclusive rights to commercialize...

Fresenius SE, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said it is acquiring APP Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill., for $3.7 billion in cash.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Fresenius SE, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said it is acquiring APP Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill., for $3.7 billion in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, Fresenius will acquire the outstanding common stock of APP for $23 per share....

Geneart AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... Geneart AG, of Regensburg, Germany, has extended a current agreement with the U.S. National Cancer Institute for $800,000. The NIH is increasing its order for the production of genes for the "Mammalian Gene Collection" to a new total of $2.7...

Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, of Tuebingen, Germany, received grants from three public research funding programs to advance its early-stage cancer immunotherapy programs, with a special focus on glioblastoma and cancer stem cells. The...

ImmuPharma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 9, 2008... ImmuPharma plc, of London, said it raised 1.6 million [pounds sterling] (US$3.1 million) from institutional investors through a placing and announced that Lupuzor, its treatment for the chronic autoimmune disease, lupus, completed the first leg...

Ipsen, of Paris, completed its purchase of Apokyn, a treatment for Parkinson's disease, from Vernalis plc, of Winnersh, UK, and Vernalis' U.S. commercial operations.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Ipsen, of Paris, completed its purchase of Apokyn, a treatment for Parkinson's disease, from Vernalis plc, of Winnersh, UK, and Vernalis' U.S. commercial operations. The $17.5 million buyout was announced last month.

Lonza Group, of Basel, Switzerland, completed its acquisition of Cologne, Germany-based Amaxa AG, which supplies transfection technologies to the cell discovery market.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Lonza Group, of Basel, Switzerland, completed its acquisition of Cologne, Germany-based Amaxa AG, which supplies transfection technologies to the cell discovery market. Lonza said it now will begin integrating Amaxa's 160 employees into its...

Nabriva Therapeutics GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, appointed George Golumbeski CEO.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Nabriva Therapeutics GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, appointed George Golumbeski CEO. He served most recently as vice president of business development, licensing and strategy for the oncology business unit of Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG.

Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, said it has acquired Corbett Life Science Pty. Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, for $135 million in cash and stock.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, said it has acquired Corbett Life Science Pty. Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, for $135 million in cash and stock. Qiagen said it expects the transaction to contribute $14 million in sales in the second half of...

UCB SA.(Other News To Note)
July 9, 2008... UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said a marketing authorization application has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency for approval of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) as a subcutaneous treatment for adults with moderate to severe active...

Actelion, GSK ink $3.2b deal with almorexant as centerpiece.
July 16, 2008... Actelion Ltd. entered potentially it's biggest ever deal, a strategic collaboration in the area of orexin antagonists with GlaxoSmithKline plc that could be worth up to CHF3.3 billion (US$3.2 billion) in up-front, development and sales-related...

Proximagen stands to get $232m in deal for Parkinson's drug.
July 16, 2008... LONDON -- Proximagen Neuroscience plc sealed a $232 million development deal with Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc. for the development of PRX1, a preclinical-stage compound that is an improved formulation of L-Dopa, for the symptomatic treatment...

Discovery of toxic element in AD forces paradigm shift.
July 16, 2008... LONDON -- A new study suggested that drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease should target the proteins that comprise the plaques that form in the brain in that condition, rather than the plaques themselves. Ciaran Regan, professor of...

Oxford BioMedica takes hit on Phase III TroVax failure.
July 16, 2008... LONDON -- Oxford BioMedica plc's share price plunged 60.27 percent to 7.35 pence (US15 cents) on Friday when the company said the Phase III trial of its cancer vaccine TroVax would not reach its primary endpoint of overall survival in renal...

Biotrin sells infections unit, spins out biomarker business.
July 16, 2008... DUBLIN, Ireland -- Biotrin International Ltd. simultaneously sold its infectious disease diagnostics business to DiaSorin SpA for 25 million [euro] (US$39.8 million) in cash while spinning out its organ damage biomarker business into a new...

Biotech firms codify links with patient organizations.
July 16, 2008... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Biotechnology firms represented by the Emerging Biopharmaceutical Enterprises association in Brussels have committed themselves to clearer relationships with patient organizations beginning March 2009. The initiative is a...

Hybrigenics and Servier renew research contract.
July 16, 2008... From Staff Reports PARIS -- Hybrigenics SA and the French pharmaceutical company Servier Laboratories renewed their research collaboration aimed at discovering new targets for the development of anticancer drugs. The new contract...

Renovo gets OK to start Phase III trial for Juvista.
July 16, 2008... LONDON -- Renovo plc received the go ahead for its proposed European Phase III of Juvista, a TGFbeta treatment for the prevention of scarring, with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) approving the use of a new visual scale developed by the...

Alcon Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 16, 2008... Alcon Inc., of Huenenberg, Switzerland, has terminated the development program designed to evaluate the benefit of anecortave acetate treatment on the risk for developing sight-threatening choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related...

BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, announced that Loramyc was launched simultaneously on the British, German and Danish markets.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, announced that Loramyc was launched simultaneously on the British, German and Danish markets. Loramyc is its 50-mg, once-a-day topical formulation of miconazole for oropharyngeal candidiasis in immunodepressed...

The billion-plus blockbusters: the Top 25 Biotech Drugs.(The Bioworld Top 25 Biotechnology Drugs Report)
July 16, 2008... By the end of this decade, the biotechnology market will have advanced to the $100 billion level. Its list of drugs has been the lure that continues to attract interest from an array of market-facilitating elements. A Growing Industry ...

Ariana Pharma raises 1.5m [euro] for decision-support tools.
July 16, 2008... PARIS -- Ariana Pharma, which is developing decision-support tools to support the drug discovery process, closed a series A funding round in which it raised 1.5 million [euro] (US$2.35 million). All the funds were provided by Vizille...

TcLand signs license pact for gene validation studies.
July 16, 2008... PARIS -- TcLand Expression SA, which specializes in gene expression biomarkers for autoimmune disorders and transplantation, and IDIBAPS (Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer), a research consortium led by the Hospital...

Geneart AG, of Regensburg, Germany, said it received 800,000 [euro] (US$1.26 million) from the German government in a joint project to develop a vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza virus as a test case.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... Geneart AG, of Regensburg, Germany, said it received 800,000 [euro] (US$1.26 million) from the German government in a joint project to develop a vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza virus as a test case. The project will be coordinated by...

Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, of Tuebingen, Germany, has named Paul G. Higham as CEO effective Aug. 1. He previously served as director of commercial development at Ark Therapeutics Group plc where he was responsible for commercial strategy...

KeyNeurotek Pharmaceuticals AG.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... KeyNeurotek Pharmaceuticals AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, published animal data in the Journal of Biological Chemistry relating to how mutations in the huntingtin gene cause Huntington's disease. Researchers from the company and the Universities...

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said an initial investigation of the recent death of a Phase I clinical trial volunteer in Scotland indicated that the individual in question died from acute myocardial re-infarction arising from coronary...

OctoPlus NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said it will receive an additional 2 million [euro] (US$3.2 million) under the terms of its bridge financing announced in March.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 16, 2008... OctoPlus NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said it will receive an additional 2 million [euro] (US$3.2 million) under the terms of its bridge financing announced in March. The payment is made by the company's co-development partner in Locteron,...

Pharming Group NV.(Other News To Note)(Clinical report)
July 16, 2008... Pharming Group NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, announced positive results from ongoing open-label studies with recombinant human C1 inhibitor (Rhucin) for the treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema. The results are from the...

Prana Biotechnology Ltd.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... Prana Biotechnology Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said recently published research shows that its lead Alzheimer's Disease drug, PBT2 found that it profoundly and rapidly improved cognition in transgenic mice, prevented the formation of...

ProStrakan Group plc.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, Scotland, said the FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date for Sancuso, a transdermal patch used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, to July 18. ProStrakan said the...

Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 16, 2008... Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH, of Laupheim, Germany, will invest 14 million [euro] in the expansion of its Laupheim site. Recently a 50 million [euro] investment in biotechnological development and production facilities was completed....

TheraGenetics Ltd.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... TheraGenetics Ltd., of Cambridge, Mass. and London, said it completed an agreement with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario to license intellectual property related to methods and kits for determining the susceptibility of a...

Tissera Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
July 16, 2008... Tissera Inc., of Herzliya, Israel, reported the closing of a bridge loan agreement of $200,000. The company entered a bridge loan agreement with an accredited investor, who was a participant in the company's December 2006 fundraising. As part...

Vivalis, of Nantes, France, said it has granted Acambis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., rights to the avian embryonic stem cell derived eb66 cell line to evaluate it as a production platform of viral vectors and vaccines.(Other News To Note)
July 16, 2008... Vivalis, of Nantes, France, said it has granted Acambis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., rights to the avian embryonic stem cell derived eb66 cell line to evaluate it as a production platform of viral vectors and vaccines. Terms of the agreement were...