BioWorld International articles from June 2005

BioWorld International archives from June 2005

Qiagen: $39.2m for molecular diagnostics firm Artus GmbH.
June 1, 2005... In a cash transaction that it said would be earnings accretive from next year, Qiagen NV is acquiring Artus GmbH for a total outlay of $39.2 million. Some $1 1.6 million of that will be held in escrow and released upon the achievement of...

In dry Europe, TopoTarget to test Danish IPO market.
June 1, 2005... TopoTarget A/S is bidding to become the first biotechnology company to complete an initial public offering on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in almost five years. The company is planning to issue 8 million to 10 million shares. Unconfirmed...

Inhibition of factor implantation might mean new contraceptives.
June 1, 2005... LONDON -- A small signalling molecule in mice that is essential for embryos to implant in the uterus could lead to novel forms of non-steroidal contraception, said a team of researchers in Cambridge, UK. Their work proves that inhibiting...

Animal testing ethics report reaches no solid solution.
June 1, 2005... LONDON -- A wide-ranging review on the ethics of animal research has called for a reduction in its use, while acknowledging that animal testing has made a significant contribution to medical science. The two-year study by the Nuffield...

Prolysis gets $9.9m, aims for clinic by end of 2006.
June 1, 2005... LONDON -- Prolysis Ltd. raised $9.9 million in its second-round funding to advance its three lead antibiotic programs, focusing on bacteria that are becoming resistant to existing drugs, through to clinical development. The fund raising...

Ablynx NV.(Other News To Note)(signs agreement with National Research Council of Canada Institute for Biological Sciences )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Ablynx NV, of Ghent, Belgium, signed a collaborative agreement with the National Research Council of Canada Institute for Biological Sciences in Ottawa, Ontario. The collaboration is expected to make a contribution to Ablynx's discovery efforts...

Alizyme plc.(Other News To Note)(Phase IIa trial of ATL-104 in mucositis)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Alizyme plc, of Cambridge, UK, completed the dose-escalation safety stage of its Phase IIa trial of ATL-104 in mucositis. A total of 27 patients were treated and no safety issues were raised by the independent review panel. Stage two now is...

Ardana reports positive data in Teverelix LA Phase IIa trial.
June 1, 2005... LONDON -- Ardana plc announced positive results in a Phase IIa study of its gonadatrophin-releasing hormone antagonist, Teverelix LA, in treating enlargement of the prostate gland, two weeks after reporting positive results in a Phase II trial...

BioAlliance reports successful Phase III for miconazole Lauriad.
June 1, 2005... PARIS -- BioAlliance Pharma SA reported that its Phase III trial of miconazole Lauriad, its formulation of miconazole as a once-a-day, extended-release mucosal bioadhesive tablet, attained its primary endpoint. The trial tested Lauriad in...

Amarin Corp.(Other News To Note)(securities offering)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Amarin Corp. plc, of London, completed its registered direct offering of 13.7 million American depository shares for gross proceeds of $17.8 million and net proceeds totaling about $14.7 million. The company said the offering included the...

Angel Biotechnology Ltd.(Other News To Note)(research funding)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Angel Biotechnology Ltd., of Cramlington, UK, said its development program was awarded two grants totaling 275,000 [pounds sterling] (US$502,595) for research and development during 2004-2005. One grant is for the company's Rapid Recombination...

Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, agreed to acquire the Melbourne, Australia-based drug discovery company Iliad Chemicals Pty. Ltd. for $9 million in Bionomics shares.(Other News To Note)
June 1, 2005... Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, agreed to acquire the Melbourne, Australia-based drug discovery company Iliad Chemicals Pty. Ltd. for $9 million in Bionomics shares, with a potential $3 million milestone payment in Bionomics shares if...

Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Brisbane, Calif., said Cellegesic (nitroglycerin ointment) was launched in the UK by ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, UK.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Brisbane, Calif., said Cellegesic (nitroglycerin ointment) was launched in the UK by ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, UK. Branded Rectogesic outside the U.S., the product is a 0.4 percent topical ointment...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and its contract manufacturer, DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 commercial license agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark.(Other News To Note)
June 1, 2005... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and its contract manufacturer, DSM Biologics, of Groningen, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 commercial license agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark. The agreement allows...

Cytheris.(Other News To Note)(licensing agreement)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Cytheris, of Paris, signed a worldwide license agreement with three U.S. institutions, New York University, the City University of New York and the Aaron Diamond AIDs Research Center, for a new immuno-modulating agent. The agreement gives the...

Elan Corp. plc.(Other News To Note)(securities)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, watched its shares climb 1 1.7 percent May 26, following the company's annual meeting in which CEO Kelly Martin said Tysabri eventually will be put back on the market. The multiple sclerosis drug was pulled...

Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and BonTom--Breeding & Research Group, of the faculty of agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, formed a research collaboration to jointly develop tomato varieties with improved taste and high-impact aroma.(Other News To Note)
June 1, 2005... Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and BonTom--Breeding & Research Group, of the faculty of agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, formed a research collaboration to jointly develop tomato varieties with improved taste and...

Exigon A/S.(Other News To Note)(mercury detection probes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Exiqon A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said a paper published in Science described the temporal and spatial expression patterns of 1 15 conserved vertebrate microRNAs in zebrafish embryos by in situ hybridizations, using Exiqon's mercury detection...

Helsinn Birex Therapeutics Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland, has received the first delivery of Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) and has begun sales and marketing of the product, which was approved in Europe for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Helsinn Birex Therapeutics Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland, has received the first delivery of Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) and has begun sales and marketing of the product, which was approved in Europe for the prevention of acute nausea and...

Hybrigenics SA.(Other News To Note)(obtains international quality control recognition)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Hybrigenics SA, of Paris, obtained international quality-control recognition for its proteomics service, having been granted ISO 9001-2000 certification in Europe, QMI (Quality Management Institute) certification in the U.S. and JQA (Japan...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA.(Other News To Note)(granted European patent)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, has been granted a European patent covering the basic technology underlying its therapeutic cancer vaccines, which are designed to prevent tumor relapse. The vaccines are derived from the patient's white...

IntegraGen SA.(Other News To Note)(partners with Fondation Autisme)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... IntegraGen SA, of Paris, said it will be using DNA samples collected by the newly formed Fondation Autisme in France to validate its genetic test for autism, expected to become available in 2006. The company is supporting the Fondation with a...

Kiadis BV, of Groningen, the Netherlands, and NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, entered an evaluation agreement centered on the use of Kiadis' core on-line screening technology, BioSelect, for Organon's reproductive medicine discovery program.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Kiadis BV, of Groningen, the Netherlands, and NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands, entered an evaluation agreement centered on the use of Kiadis' core on-line screening technology, BioSelect, for Organon's reproductive medicine discovery...

Paradigm Therapeutics Ltd.(Other News To Note)
June 1, 2005... Paradigm Therapeutics Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, appointed Alastair Riddell CEO. For the past seven years Riddell was CEO of Pharmagene plc, leaving earlier this year after the company reported lower turnover and the lead product failed in Phase...

ProStrakan Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ProStrakan Group plc, of Galashiels, UK, reduced its indicative value by a quarter, to between 160 million [pounds sterling]--190 million [pounds sterling], (US$291 million to US$346.3 million) in a bid to attract potential investors. The...

Purely Proteins Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Purely Proteins Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, said its board decided to accelerate the company's internal program to discover and develop purification processes for human serum therapeutics. Initial targets in the Purely Proteins program include the...

SemBioSys Genetics Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, received the second and final license payment from its royalty-bearing license and sales agreement with Lonza Inc., of Basel, Switzerland.(Other News To Note)(licensing agreements)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SemBioSys Genetics Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, received the second and final license payment from its royalty-bearing license and sales agreement with Lonza Inc., of Basel, Switzerland. The agreement provides Lonza with the global rights to...

SIRS-Lab GmbH.(Other News To Note)(participating in research project GenOSept)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... SIRS-Lab GmbH, of Jena, Germany, is participating in the European research project GenOSept. The project investigating the "Genetics of Sepsis and Septic Shock" was initiated by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. GenOSept links...

Structural Genomics Consortium.(Other News To Note)(human and malaria protein structures)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Structural Genomics Consortium, of Oxford, UK, an Anglo-Canadian charitable consortium of public and private agencies, delivered its first 50 human and malaria protein structures to the public domain two months ahead of schedule.

Valentis Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., said it has granted to London-based Organon Laboratories Ltd. a nonexclusive, worldwide license for its GeneSwitch gene-regulation technology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Valentis Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., said it has granted to London-based Organon Laboratories Ltd. a nonexclusive, worldwide license for its GeneSwitch gene-regulation technology. Terms of the agreement call for Organon to pay an up-front...

Exiqon raises $20m for assay development tools.
June 8, 2005... Exiqon A/S secured $20 million in its third funding round to continue development of its miRCURY portfolio of microRNA tools, to expand its sales and marketing capabilities, to fund new production facilities and to retire debt. Lars...

Hepatitis C vaccine results inconclusive for Innogenetics.
June 8, 2005... PARIS -- Innogenetics NV reported mixed results from Phase IIb trials of its E1 viral protein-based therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis C. The data confirmed the safety and tolerability of the vaccine and its ability both to...

Mutation study provides insight to resistance with antimalarials.
June 8, 2005... LONDON -- A change in a single amino acid is all that lies between the malaria parasite's susceptibility to the antimalarial drugs called artemisinins and widespread resistance, researchers believe. A new study into the mechanism of action...

BioVex moves to U.S. for IPO shot, better facilities.
June 8, 2005... LONDON -- Cancer vaccine specialist BioVex Ltd. is relocating headquarters from Oxford, UK, to the U.S., paving the way for a planned initial public offering on Nasdaq once it has Phase II data. "The reason for the relocation is ultimately...

Rothschild investment partners launches 120m [euro] biotech fund.(Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners launches venture capital fund, BioDiscovery II)
June 8, 2005... PARIS -- Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, part of the private equity arm of the Paris investment bank La Compagnie FinanciSre Edmond de Rothschild (Groupe LCF Rothschild), launched a new venture capital fund, BioDiscovery II, with the...

AbGenomics Corp., of Taipei, Taiwan, granted Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products derived from the AbGenomics' monoclonal antibody, designated 168.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... AbGenomics Corp., of Taipei, Taiwan, granted Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products derived from the AbGenomics' monoclonal antibody, designated 168. AbGenomics...

Bio-Tech Israel 2005 meeting focuses on 'holistic' attack.
June 8, 2005... TEL AVIV, Israel -- The Bio-Tech Israel 2005 meeting held near the end of May attracted more than 1,000 registered participants and 110 exhibitors. Bio-Tech Israel was sponsored by the industry lobby and umbrella organization Israel Life...

Yet more EU biotech plans win only two cheers from industry.
June 8, 2005... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Another new strategy for Europe's drug industry--closely focused on biotechnology--won only qualified praise from senior European pharmaceutical executives. The plans were announced June 1 by Gunther Verheugen, vice...

Affitech A/S, of Oslo, Norway, entered its first, nonexclusive research license agreement on the use of Protein L and related vectors with an unnamed British biotechnology company.(Other News To Note)
June 8, 2005... Affitech A/S, of Oslo, Norway, entered its first, nonexclusive research license agreement on the use of Protein L and related vectors with an unnamed British biotechnology company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Affitech gained rights to...

Antisoma plc, of London, signed an agreement with Heraeus GmbH to manufacture AS1410.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Antisoma plc, of London, signed an agreement with Heraeus GmbH to manufacture AS1410. Antisoma plans to start clinical trials of the telomere-targeting agent during the first half of 2006.

Argonaut Technologies Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., closed the sale of the assets of its chemistry consumables business and certain assets of its process chemistry business, which constitute substantially all of its assets except for its cash, to Biotage AB, of Uppsala, Sweden.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Argonaut Technologies Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., closed the sale of the assets of its chemistry consumables business and certain assets of its process chemistry business, which constitute substantially all of its assets except for its cash,...

Australian Cancer Technology Ltd.(Other News To Note)(name changes to Avantogen Ltd. )(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said the company's name has changed to Avantogen Ltd. by a vote of shareholders May 9. It also announced the closing of a A$5.7 million (US$4.3 million) 1:3 non-renounceable rights issue,...

Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, saw their stocks fall May 26 following reports of a possible fourth case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) linked to Tysabri.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, saw their stocks fall May 26 following reports of a possible fourth case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) linked to Tysabri, the multiple...

BioInvent International AB, of Lund, Sweden, entered a license agreement with Cambridge, UK-based Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc.(Other News To Note)
June 8, 2005... BioInvent International AB, of Lund, Sweden, entered a license agreement with Cambridge, UK-based Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc. Under the agreement, BioInvent and its partners receive rights to use CAT's antibody phage-display patent...

Cellectis SA, of Romainville, France, and Celliance, a division of Atlanta-based Serologicals Co., entered a collaboration agreement for Celliance to evaluate Cellectis' Meganuclease Recombination System to develop a new generation of derivative cell lines for production.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Cellectis SA, of Romainville, France, and Celliance, a division of Atlanta-based Serologicals Co., entered a collaboration agreement for Celliance to evaluate Cellectis' Meganuclease Recombination System to develop a new generation of...

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc, of Cambridge, UK, released new data on the oral bioavailability of its lead product, the morphine metabolite M6G, and its potential use in the treatment of chronic pain. The research, by Lona Christup of the Danish...

Cerus Corp., of Concord, Calif., entered a definitive agreement with BioOne Corp., of Tokyo, for commercialization of the Intercept Blood System for plasma in parts of Asia.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Cerus Corp., of Concord, Calif., entered a definitive agreement with BioOne Corp., of Tokyo, for commercialization of the Intercept Blood System for plasma in parts of Asia. BioOne will market and distribute the Intercept Blood System for...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, started an evaluation program with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., to optimize the application of Crucell's STAR technology in bioreactor culture.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, started an evaluation program with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., to optimize the application of Crucell's STAR technology in bioreactor culture. The program will be performed with a fully human...

Evogene Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, received $1.75 million in new capital from its existing, as well as new, investors from Israel, France and North America. It also reported that Hagai Karchi, who co-founded Evogene in 2002 and has served as CEO...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, met the first milestone in its three-year research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, met the first milestone in its three-year research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany. The companies are examining selected G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and the...

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA, of Geneva, entered an agreement with Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, to distribute GeneBio's Phenyx software platform within the Japanese market.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA, of Geneva, entered an agreement with Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, to distribute GeneBio's Phenyx software platform within the Japanese market. The agreement allows GeneBio to further...

Genmab A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said in laboratory experiments HuMax-CD20, among other things, appeared to induce more effective killing of targets expressing low levels of CD20 than rituximab. When low levels of CD20 are present on tumor...

GPC Biotech AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said that the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency has recommended the granting of orphan medicinal product designation for the anticancer monoclonal antibody 1D09C3...

Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG.(Other News To Note)(Michael Grau appointed as chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, appointed Michael Grau chief financial officer. Grau comes to Ingenium from MorphoSys AG, also of Munich, where he had been senior director for finance and accounting.

Inpharmatica Ltd., of London, said Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. licensed its Admensa interactive ADME modeling software.(Other News To Note)(absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Inpharmatica Ltd., of London, said Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. licensed its Admensa interactive ADME modeling software, and made a milestone payment following the identification of a drug target using Inpharmatica's Chematica drug discovery...

KeyNeurotek AG.(Other News To Note)(Rainer Schlichthaar appointed as chief medical officer)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, appointed Rainer Schlichthaar chief medical officer. Schlichthaar has more than 10 years of experience with drug development and regulatory affairs, including work at Mario Merrel Dow and Arzneimittelwerk...

Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, established a Level I American depository receipt program in the U.S., and its registration statement was declared effective May 31. The company is developing product candidates to target...

Micromet AG.(Other News To Note)(Carsten Reinhardt appointed as senior vice president)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Micromet AG, of Munich, Germany, added Carsten Reinhardt as senior vice president for clinical development. He joins Micromet from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., where he had been the international medical leader for Roche's Herceptin program....

MNL Pharma Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... MNL Pharma Ltd., of Reading, UK, released preclinical data showing its orally administered small-molecule MNLP 462a reduced tumor load by 70 percent compared to controls in a mouse model of melanoma.

MRC Geneservice.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... MRC Geneservice, of Cambridge, UK, agreed to a management buyout from the UK Medical Research Council, a publicly funded body. A new company, Geneservice Ltd., will be incorporated Aug. 1. It will offer genomics reagents and sequencing,...

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand, said the clinical trial program for its lead drug, Glypromate, to prevent the loss of brain function following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, has been shortened following a...

NicOx SA.(Other News To Note)(Staffan Stromberg appointed as vice president )(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, appointed Staffan Stromberg vice president of drug development. He will be in charge of nonclinical development and project management for all the company's programs, overseeing chemistry and formulation,...

Novagali Pharma.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Novagali Pharma, of Evry, France, initiated a Phase I trial to test its oral formulation of paclitaxel in advanced cancers. The self-micro-emulsifying formulation is designed to ensure the same efficacy and safety as intravenously injected...

ObeTherapy Biotechnology, of Evry, France, and Zambon Group SpA, of Milan, Italy, completed the first phase of the collaboration they entered in October 2004 for the discovery and development of low-molecular-weight compounds to treat metabolic disorders such as lipidemia, metabolic syndrome and obesity.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... ObeTherapy Biotechnology, of Evry, France, and Zambon Group SpA, of Milan, Italy, completed the first phase of the collaboration they entered in October 2004 for the discovery and development of low-molecular-weight compounds to treat metabolic...

Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, in collaboration with Plantation, Fla.-based Viragen Inc. and the Roslin Institute, produced a potentially therapeutic protein selectively in the whites of eggs laid by a transgenic hen.(Other News To Note)
June 8, 2005... Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, in collaboration with Plantation, Fla.-based Viragen Inc. and the Roslin Institute, produced a potentially therapeutic protein selectively in the whites of eggs laid by a transgenic hen. As a result,...

Pharmexa A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Pharmexa A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, raised DKK295.2 million (US$48.6 million) in a rights issue on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, which comprised 1 6.4 million new shares priced at DKK18 per share. The company now has 32.8 million shares...

Phylogica Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Phylogica Ltd., of West Perth, Australia, said it discovered compounds that protect brain cells under simulated stroke conditions. It said it found a number of its proprietary phylomers were able to rescue the cells from death. Phylomers are...

PONTIS Venture Partners Management GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... PONTIS Venture Partners Management GmbH began operations in Vienna, Austria. The company's first fund of 30 million [euro] (US$36.8 million) will specialize in high-tech investments, including biotechnology, in Austria and Central Europe. The...

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, entered a license agreement to advance the development of a series of promising preclinical compounds developed by Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, entered a license agreement to advance the development of a series of promising preclinical compounds developed by Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo. Astellas was formed through a merger...

TopoTarget A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 8, 2005... TopoTarget A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, disclosed its indicative price range in advance of its initial public offering on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. The company is seeking DKK205 million (US$33.8 million) to DKK255 million by offering 10...

TopoTarget gets DKK258.75m through over-subscribed IPO.
June 15, 2005... A cautious pricing strategy paid off for TopoTarget A/S, as its initial public offering of 10 million shares on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, which yielded gross proceeds of DKK225 million (US$36.5 million), was more than six times...

Refused on appeal, GW needs new confirming Phase III data.
June 15, 2005... LONDON -- GW Pharmaceuticals plc lost the battle to register its cannabis-based medicine, Sativex, for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis on the basis of the existing data file, but won the war by convincing regulators there are...

Proteomics study puts cellular signalling pathways in scrutiny.
June 15, 2005... LONDON -- The fields of tissue engineering and drug discovery are both set to benefit from a new method of surveying all the proteins activated in a cell by a given stimulus, such as a growth factor. The technique, which involves analyzing...

Court documents reveal GSK's stand on Relenza.
June 15, 2005... SYDNEY, Australia -- Court documents lodged with the Supreme Court in Melbourne state that GlaxoSmithKline plc virtually abandoned marketing the flu drug Relenza two flu seasons after its launch, but had good reasons. Lodged with the court...

Biotechnology focal point in Schroeder's re-election bid.
June 15, 2005... MUNICH, Germany -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, speaking at the University of Goettingen, injected biotechnology into the country's national election campaign by calling for greater openness in embryonic stem cell research. "In research,...

ProStrakan drops price; IPO gets 40m [pounds sterling] at lower valuation.(ProStrakan Group plc)
June 15, 2005... LONDON -- ProStrakan Group plc is going ahead with its initial public offering after slashing the proposed valuation by 100 million [pounds sterling] (US$180.2 million), and cutting the amount of new money raised by 20 percent, from 50 million...

7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered an agreement with Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., concerning a drug discovery program based on finding antagonists to a particular 7-transmembrane receptor target.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... 7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered an agreement with Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., concerning a drug discovery program based on finding antagonists to a particular...

Amarin Corp. plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... Amarin Corp. plc, of London, said it completed its U.S. investigators' meeting for its upcoming U.S. Phase II trial of Miraxion to treat the symptoms of Huntington's disease. The trial will enroll about 300 patients in a doubleblind,...

Antisoma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... Antisoma plc, of London, started a Phase II trial of AS1404, a vascular disrupting agent, in ovarian cancer. The trial will include 70 patients for Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Half are receiving standard chemotherapy, while the other...

Avantogen Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... Avantogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it is initiating a preclinical study to develop a therapeutic vaccine for HSV-2 in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Avantogen said it will combine its GPI-0100 adjuvant,...

Bavarian Nordic A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reached a milestone in the development of Imvamune with the publication of a study that demonstrated Imvamune protects monkeys from a lethal challenge with monkeypox, a closely related virus to...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)(appoints Piers Morgan )(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, appointed Piers Morgan chief financial officer. Morgan previously was finance director of London-based Arrow Therapeutics.

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc.(Other News To Note)
June 15, 2005... CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc, of Cambridge, UK, announced successful results from its Phase IIa proof-of-concept study of CNS 5161, its selective NMDA antagonist, in neuropathic pain. In the study, which was designed to establish the therapeutic...

CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ambrx Inc., of San Diego, entered a development and manufacturing agreement for the cGMP production of PEGylated recombinant growth hormone using Ambrx's ReCODE technology.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
June 15, 2005... CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ambrx Inc., of San Diego, entered a development and manufacturing agreement for the cGMP production of PEGylated recombinant growth hormone using Ambrx's ReCODE technology. The product...