BioWorld International articles from March 2007

BioWorld International archives from March 2007

Neuropharm raises 20m [pounds sterling] to fund CNS development pipeline.
March 7, 2007... LONDON -- Neuropharm Group plc raised 20 million [pounds sterling] (US$38.4 million) in a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market, enabling it to attempt to take Prozac as a treatment for autism through to market and advance the...

Jerini Plans NDA filing for Icatibant despite mixed results.
March 7, 2007... Although its pivotal trial program that assessed the potential of Icatibant in hereditary angioedema (HAE) delivered mix results last fall, Jerini AG is pressing ahead with a new drug application filing planned for the third quarter. A...

German researchers looking at Gleevec in new applications.
March 7, 2007... LONDON -- The drug imatinib (Gleevec), which is a highly specific treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia, also may be able to cause regression of many different types of tumors, a new study suggests. A team of researchers working in...

Molecular Partners, Roche enter research collaboration.
March 7, 2007... Molecular Partners AG entered a research collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. under which it will investigate the potential of its DRP technology against targets provided by Roche. Molecular Partners, of Zurich, Switzerland, will...

Ipso gets funding, AIM listing to invest in university spin-offs.(Ipso Ventures plc.)(Alternative Investment Market)
March 7, 2007... LONDON -- The UK band of quoted technology commercialization companies has a new member, with the listing this week of Ipso Ventures plc. The company joined the AIM market, raising 4.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$8.6 million) to support...

Celogos receives 2.5m [euro] for development of cell therapies.
March 7, 2007... PARIS -- The French pharmaceutical company HRA Pharma has invested a further 2.5 million [euro] (US$3.27 million) in its subsidiary Celogos, which it took over in January 2006. Celogos, which was founded in 2001, is specialized in the...

Biotech industry not gaining ground in European GM debate.
March 7, 2007... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Short-term prospects for a European breakthrough that would allow genetically modified organisms more freely onto the market remain dim, noted biotech industry executives and pro-biotech politicians. "Europeans'...

Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, entered a contract services agreement with Toronto-based Dalton Pharma Services for the manufacturing of preclinical tox materials, with the potential for cGMP production.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, entered a contract services agreement with Toronto-based Dalton Pharma Services for the manufacturing of preclinical tox materials, with the potential for cGMP production. The agreement relates...

Amgen Inc.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., opened a new European Development Center in London, to support the company's largest international clinical trial program. In 2007, Amgen expects to enroll 55,000 patients in more than 250 clinical...

Argenta Discovery Ltd., of Harlow, UK, expanded its drug discovery agreement with Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, to add a second two-year discovery project.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Argenta Discovery Ltd., of Harlow, UK, expanded its drug discovery agreement with Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, to add a second two-year discovery project. The companies are using Argenta's computeraided drug design, medicinal...

Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., of London, said the acquisition of the company by AstraZeneca plc, also of London, has closed.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., of London, said the acquisition of the company by AstraZeneca plc, also of London, has closed. The $150 million cash deal originally was announced on Feb. 1 . Arrow Therapeutics, founded in 1998, is focused on...

BioAlliance Pharma SA.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, reported a sharp jump in its net loss to 13.2 million [euro] (US$17.3 million) last year from 7.7 million [euro] in 2005. Although the company earned revenues for the first time, 460,000 [euro] through the...

Cancer Research Technology Inc.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Cancer Research Technology Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Cancer Research Technology Ltd., of London, and Fox Chase Cancer Center, of Philadelphia, entered a collaboration to develop small-molecule inhibitors of an undisclosed kinase. The...

Eurofins Scientific.(Other News To Note)(Eurofins Scientific S.A. reports 40 percent rise in revenue)(Brief article)
March 7, 2007... * Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, reported a 40 percent rise in its net earnings to 37.3 [euro] (US$48.9 million) million in 2006, when its revenues jumped by 58 percent to 368 million [euro] and its post-tax rate of return on capital...

Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, and Interprotein Corp., of Amagasaki-City, Japan, signed a collaboration to develop Interprotein's interleukin-6 inhibitors program for inflammatory disease.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, and Interprotein Corp., of Amagasaki-City, Japan, signed a collaboration to develop Interprotein's interleukin-6 inhibitors program for inflammatory disease. Evotec will use its expertise in medical chemistry,...

Help the Aged.(Other News To Note)(biomedical research funding)(Brief article)
March 7, 2007... * Help the Aged, a UK-based charity, said it will fund 20 new studies totaling 1.7 million [pounds sterling] (US$3.3 million) through its biomedical Research into Aging program. The studies cover conditions related to older age including...

KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, entered an exclusive licensing agreement to take over development and marketing rights to GRT 203 from Grunenthal GmbH, of Aachen, Germany.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, entered an exclusive licensing agreement to take over development and marketing rights to GRT 203 from Grunenthal GmbH, of Aachen, Germany. The compound, in development for treating aconuresis (urinary...

MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said the six-month dosage form of its cancer drug Eligard has been launched in Germany.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said the six-month dosage form of its cancer drug Eligard has been launched in Germany. Previously, it had been available in Germany and other European countries only in one- and three-month dosages....

Nautilus Biotech SA.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Nautilus Biotech SA, of Evry, France, filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA for oral Belerofon, its long-lasting human interferon (IFN) alpha. It filed an IND for injectable Belerofon in the U.S. in October. The company...

Vaxon-Biotech.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Vaxon-Biotech, of Evry, France, appointed Nadege Le Roux director, drug development. Le Roux, previously Bexidem clinical project leader at IDM Pharma Inc., of San Diego, will be responsible for all of Vaxon's preclinical and clinical...

Vivalis, of Nantes, France, granted Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth, rights to the embryonic stem cell-derived EBx cell lines for evaluation in the production of viral vaccines.(Other News To Note)
March 7, 2007... * Vivalis, of Nantes, France, granted Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth, rights to the embryonic stem cell-derived EBx cell lines for evaluation in the production of viral vaccines. Vivalis said its chicken and...

Oxford BioMedica Buys Oxxon, in share offering valued At 16M [euro].
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- Oxford BioMedica plc is acquiring its fellow immunotherapy specialist Oxxon Therapeutics Ltd. in an all-paper deal that values Oxxon at 12 million [pounds sterling] (US$23.3 million). In...

Early data open new market for AM-Pharma's lead drug.(AM-Pharma BV )
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent AM-Pharma BV has identified a third target indication for its lead investigational drug alkaline phosphatase, following an analysis of a subgroup of sepsis patients with acute renal failure. Data...

Protein fragment offers hope for new cancer-killing agent.
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- A peptide that can induce several different types of cancer cells to enter apoptosis (programmed cell death) could lead to the development of new anticancer agents. The protein fragment,...

EU battle lines harden as biotech 'manifesto' sent back.
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biotechnology industry has initiated a major new campaign to overcome public and political skepticism for its products--and on the same day the European Parliament...

BioAlliance, Spepharm partner in deal to market Loramyc.
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent PARIS -- BioAlliance Pharma SA created a 50:50 joint venture with Spepharm Holding BV to market Loramyc in Europe. The agreement brings BioAlliance 3 million [euro] (US$3.9M) up front and potentially...

NovaThera expanded deal moves toward artificial lung.
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON -- NovaThera Ltd. is expanding its collaboration with NovaLung GmbH in a 2 million [euro] (US$2.6 million) project to build a prototype artificial lung that uses stem cell-derived pneumocytes to...

Transgene reports net '06 loss but expects busy year ahead.(Financial report)
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent PARIS -- Transgene SA reported a net loss of 22.5 million [euro] (US$29.6M) for 2006, up from 21 million [euro] the year before. Although its revenues rose from 4.2 million [euro] to 5.5 million [euro]...

TopoTarget in-licenses Novartis antibody fragment for cancer.
March 14, 2007... BioWorld International Correspondent TopoTarget A/S took full ownership of a monoclonal antibody development program in cancer by exercising a licensing option with Novartis AG. Terms were not disclosed, but the financial implications...

Acambis, of Cambridge, UK, is losing its CEO Gordon Cameron and embarking on a restructuring to cut costs by 20 percent.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Acambis, of Cambridge, UK, is losing its CEO Gordon Cameron and embarking on a restructuring to cut costs by 20 percent. The moves follow the company's failure to win a share of the $1 billion contract to supply the U.S. government with MVA...

Active Biotech AB.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, reported positive data from a Phase Ib study of TASQ, an oral agent being developed to treat prostate cancer. The Swedish study in hormone-refractory patients showed five of six patients had a decrease in...

Algeta ASA.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
March 14, 2007... Algeta ASA, of Oslo, Norway, is seeking NOK200 million (US$32.6 million) and NOK250 million from its forthcoming IPO on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company is offering up between 3.92 million and 6.1 million shares at an indicative price range...

Amarin Corp. plc, of London, acquired worldwide rights to develop and market a nasal lorazepam formulation developed using Dublin, Ireland-based Elan Corp.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Amarin Corp. plc, of London, acquired worldwide rights to develop and market a nasal lorazepam formulation developed using Dublin, Ireland-based Elan Corp. plc's NanoCrystal technology for the outpatient treatment of emergency seizures in...

Apogenix GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
March 14, 2007... Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, has been given 900,000 [pounds sterling] in research funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The funds will be used to study Apogenix' lead candidate, APG101, for the treatment...

Arpida Ltd.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Arpida Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, reported positive results of preclinical studies on AR-2474 against a large panel of clinical isolates, including those resistant to various current therapies. In addition, topical applications of AR-2474...

ARTAMIS research consortium is receiving 2.4 million [euro] funding from the EuroTrans-Bio initiative for a three-year project that will develop lab-on-a-chip systems for generating aptamers and analyzing biomolecular interactions.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... ARTAMIS research consortium is receiving 2.4 million [euro] funding from the EuroTrans-Bio initiative for a three-year project that will develop lab-on-a-chip systems for generating aptamers and analyzing biomolecular interactions. The...

BioLine Rx Ltd., of Jerusalem, has signed worldwide exclusive license agreements with PolyGene Ltd. and Efrat BioPolymers Ltd., both of Efrat, Israel, to develop and commercialize their polymer drug delivery system.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... BioLine Rx Ltd., of Jerusalem, has signed worldwide exclusive license agreements with PolyGene Ltd. and Efrat BioPolymers Ltd., both of Efrat, Israel, to develop and commercialize their polymer drug delivery system. Financial terms were not...

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., of Petach Tikva, Israel, completed a private placement with institutional investors of 32 million shares and 12.8 million options, raising NIS40 million (US$9.5 million). The deal was done in a single day and brought in...

CeNes Pharmaceuticals plc.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc, of Cambridge, UK, announced additional data from the pivotal Phase III trial of M6G (morphine-6-glucuronide) in treating post-operative pain showing fewer anti-emetic drugs were required in patients treated with M6G...

Clinquest Group, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and TNO Pharma, of Delft.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Clinquest Group, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and TNO Pharma, of Delft, the Netherlands, signed a license and collaboration agreement that provides Clinquest with the exclusive rights to worldwide clinical development and commercialization of...

Cobra Biomanufacturing Plc.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Cobra Biomanufacturing Plc, of Keele, UK, is joining a research consortium formed to develop a new vaccine delivery system based on live bacterial spores. The project, funded by the European Union Framework Program 6, is coordinated by the...

Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, signed a second agreement with San Diego-based Biosite Inc., for the development and commercialization of immunoassay diagnostic products.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, signed a second agreement with San Diego-based Biosite Inc., for the development and commercialization of immunoassay diagnostic products. In addition to expanding the number of potential diagnostic...

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA, of Lainate, Italy, raised CHF46.5 million (US$38.1 million) from its IPO on the Swiss Stock Exchange in Zurich. The company issued 2,326,100 new shares, which it priced Friday at CHF20 per share, below its indicative...

Crucell NV.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said it will receive up to $5 million from Rockville, Md.-based Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation to support the advanced development of its AdVac-based tuberculosis vaccine. The companies agreed to...

Cytheris.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
March 14, 2007... Cytheris, of Paris, reported positive results from two Phase I clinical trials of its recombinant interleukin-7, rIL-7, in HIV-infected patients. rIL-7 is a growth factor that helps rebuild the immune system and enhances the global and specific...

Debiopharm Group.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
March 14, 2007... Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, reported preclinical data validating the mechanism of action of Debio-0512 as an anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapeutic vaccine that inhibits inflammatory processes in animal models of acute and...

Devgen NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief article)
March 14, 2007... Devgen NV, of Ghent, Belgium, reported positive results of its second year of field trials of nematicide compounds and formulations in a variety of crops. The trials, which tested efficacy and residue in crops such as sugar beet, potato,...

Flamel Technologies SA.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Flamel Technologies SA, of Lyon, France, reported a 28.5 percent increase in its net loss to $35.2 million in 2006 from $27.4 million in 2005, despite a 23.8 percent drop in its research and development spending to $38.2 million from $47.3...

Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said its BioFocus DPI service division entered an agreement to supply smallmolecule compounds for drug discovery to the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development division of Belgium-based Janssen Pharmaceutica NV.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said its BioFocus DPI service division entered an agreement to supply smallmolecule compounds for drug discovery to the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development division of Belgium-based...

Genmab A/S.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said its antibody HuMax-EGFr (zalutumumab) locks the EGF receptor in an inactive conformation, which prevents receptor activation and the binding of growth factors. The antibody also inhibits EGF receptor...

IDIS World Medicines, of Weybridge, UK, and Genta Inc., of Berkeley Heights, N.J., signed an agreement for IDIS to distribute two of Genta's oncology products.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... IDIS World Medicines, of Weybridge, UK, and Genta Inc., of Berkeley Heights, N.J., signed an agreement for IDIS to distribute two of Genta's oncology products: Ganite (gallium nitrate injection) and Genasense (oblimersen sodium) injection on a...

Innogenetics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, said the U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion by Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., for a stay of an injunction pending appeal.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Innogenetics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, said the U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion by Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., for a stay of an injunction pending appeal. The ruling overturned a temporary stay ruling from Jan. 19....

Nautilus Biotech SA, of Evry, France, signed a license agreement with HanAll Pharmaceutical, of Seoul, Korea, for the marketing of three of its products in South Korea, namely Belerofon (interferon alpha), Vitatropin (human growth hormone) and Eporal (erythropoietin).(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Nautilus Biotech SA, of Evry, France, signed a license agreement with HanAll Pharmaceutical, of Seoul, Korea, for the marketing of three of its products in South Korea, namely Belerofon (interferon alpha), Vitatropin (human growth hormone) and...

Orphan Europe SARL, of Paris, acquired worldwide rights to Cystadane (betaine anhydrous) from Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Orphan Europe SARL, of Paris, acquired worldwide rights to Cystadane (betaine anhydrous) from Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif. Cystadane is indicated for the treatment of homocystinuria, a rare disease of genetic origin affecting...

Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc., of Carmiel, Israel, said its stock began trading Monday on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol "PLX.".(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc., of Carmiel, Israel, said its stock began trading Monday on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol "PLX." The move followed the Jan. 3 completion of the merger between Protalix and the Miami-based public...

Protherics plc, of London, said that a 10 million [pounds sterling] (US$19.4 million) milestone payment from AstraZeneca plc, also of London, has been triggered as a result of the successful scale-up of the CytoFab manufacturing process to a 600 litre batch size.(Other News To Note)
March 14, 2007... Protherics plc, of London, said that a 10 million [pounds sterling] (US$19.4 million) milestone payment from AstraZeneca plc, also of London, has been triggered as a result of the successful scale-up of the CytoFab manufacturing process to a...