BioWorld International articles from November 2002

BioWorld International archives from November 2002

German government reducing support for start-up companies.
November 6, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder formally laid out his government's plans for its second term in a speech last week to the Bundestag, the country's parliament, which stressed the need for savings in difficult economic...

Gene for DNA repair enzyme could boost survival in cancers.
November 6, 2002... LONDON -- Transplants of stem cells engineered to carry genes that confer resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs could be used to treat patients with lymphomas and leukemias within a decade. Researchers in the UK say their work in mice already...

European biotech industry faces gaps in key leadership positions.
November 6, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European pharmaceutical industry's lobby for biotechnology firms, Emerging BioPharmaceutical Enterprises, has run into trouble with its leadership. Newly elected Chairman Elliot Goldstein stepped down Monday following...

Pieris raises 12m [euro] to fund programs in protein engineering.
November 6, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- Pieris Proteolab AG secured 12 million [euro] in first-round financing to accelerate and automate its internal discovery programs and to advance preclinical studies in oncology, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. ...

British Biotech CEO resigns following failed merger talks.
November 6, 2002... LONDON -- Elliot Goldstein resigned as CEO of British Biotech plc at the company's annual general meeting in London on Monday, following the failure of a proposed merger with MorphoSys AG. Chairman Christopher Hampson told the attendees...

Advances in Irish biotech efforts on display at meeting next week.
November 6, 2002... DUBLIN, Ireland -- Tommy Thompson, the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, is the latest confirmed speaker to be added to the lineup for next week's inaugural BioIreland conference. Thompson is heading a business mission that will...

NeuroSearch, Boehringer Ingelheim move Alzheimer's drug to Phase IIb.
November 6, 2002... NeuroSearch A/S and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH are moving their candidate central nervous system drug, NS2330, into a Phase IIb trial that will involve some 400 Alzheimer's patients in 50 centers in the U.S. and Canada. The study is...

Aptanomics raises 7m [euro] for peptide aptamer-based platform.
November 6, 2002... PARIS -- Aptanomics SA, a new company developing a drug discovery platform based on peptide aptamers, raised [euro] 7 million in an initial funding round. The private offering was subscribed by four leading French venture capital funds led...

Actelion Ltd. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... * Actelion Ltd., of Allschwil, Switzerland, presented positive results from a study of Tracleer to treat scleroderma patients suffering from digital ulcerations. The controlled, multicenter study of 122 patients, undertaken with the Boston...

Peptech stock declines following news of Centocor royalty dispute.
November 6, 2002... SYDNEY, Australia -- Investors slashed the share price of Peptech Ltd. by more than 50 percent last week when the company announced that there is a dispute over a royalty stream expected from Centocor Inc., a subsidiary of drug giant Johnson &...

Berna Biotech AG, of Bern, Switzerland, entered a strategic alliance with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc for commercialization of products in its influenza and hepatitis B vaccine franchises. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... * Berna Biotech AG, of Bern, Switzerland, entered a strategic alliance with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc for commercialization of products in its influenza and hepatitis B vaccine franchises. Shire receives exclusive European rights for the...

Bresagen Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, has been contracted by another Australian biotech company, Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... * Bresagen Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, has been contracted by another Australian biotech company, Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, to develop a large-scale manufacturing method for Metabolic's obesity drug, AOD9604.

Avidis closing 1.7m [euro] round to develop peptides technology.
November 6, 2002... PARIS -- A French spin-off from the British Medical Research Council that has developed a technology to ensure the effective bioavailability of therapeutic peptides is about to close its first funding round, which will net it at least 1.7...

Cambridge Crystallographic Data Center, of Cambridge, UK, entered a collaboration with Entropia Inc., of San Diego. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, of Cambridge, UK, entered a collaboration with Entropia Inc., of San Diego, to use Entropia's PC grid computing technology to accelerate virtual screening. CCDC is a charity devoted to the acquisition,...

Study of biotech executives says new business model is needed.
November 6, 2002... LONDON -- Biotechnology companies need a new business model to deal with the emerging paradox that the growth, which is essential to survival, also threatens their core capabilities of being innovative and fleet of foot. While it is...

Australian researcher seeking backing for new DNA service.
November 6, 2002... SYDNEY, Australia -- An academic at Queensland University is looking for commercial backing for a new service that he said can take single cells from any surface and then "fingerprint" its DNA. The range of techniques developed by lan...

Cambridge Antibody Technology plc, of Melbourn, UK, announced a second agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. for Merck to use its human phage antibody libraries. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... Cambridge Antibody Technology plc, of Melbourn, UK, announced a second agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. for Merck to use its human phage antibody libraries. CAT will get an up-front license fee and may receive future option, milestone and...

DxS Ltd., of Manchester, UK, entered a licensing agreement and research collaboration for its Scorpions nucleic acid detection technology with Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Inc., part of Johnson & Johnson. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... DxS Ltd., of Manchester, UK, entered a licensing agreement and research collaboration for its Scorpions nucleic acid detection technology with Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Inc., part of Johnson & Johnson. The license gives nonexclusive rights to...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, completed its assay development program with Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany, triggering the second milestone payment of the partnership. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, completed its assay development program with Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany, triggering the second milestone payment of the partnership. Evotec's cell analyzer, a confocal imaging reader for fast,...

Pharmagene plc, of Royston, UK, said Shionogi and Co. Ltd. has signed four new agreements for access to Pharmagene's target and compound validation technologies, bringing to nine the number of partnerships Pharmagene has signed in Japan. (Other News To Note).
November 6, 2002... Pharmagene plc, of Royston, UK, said Shionogi and Co. Ltd. has signed four new agreements for access to Pharmagene's target and compound validation technologies, bringing to nine the number of partnerships Pharmagene has signed in Japan. The...

Partnerships still key strategy for biotech, pharma companies. (BIO-Europe 2002 International Partnering Conference).
November 13, 2002... STUTTGART, Germany -- The eighth BIO-Europe 2002 International Partnering Conference drew approximately 1,200 representatives from all sectors of the biotechnology industry to Stuttgart to concentrate on partnering and making deals. "This...

Concealment strategy of cancer virus could point to therapies.
November 13, 2002... LONDON -- The nature of the "invisibility cloak" that papillomaviruses throw around themselves in order to escape the attention of the immune system has been elucidated by a team of researchers in Glasgow, Scotland. Saveria Campo and her...

New EuropaBio leader wants backing for biotech research.
November 13, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Making biotechnology research work better across national frontiers in Europe is one of the concrete tasks that the new president of EuropaBio has set. Feike Sijbesma, who runs the life sciences division of DSM in the...

GW releases positive Phase III results with cannabis drug.
November 13, 2002... LONDON -- GW Pharmaceuticals plc said the first cannabis-based prescription medicine will be on the UK market next year, as it announced positive results from each of four Phase III trials in 350 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis and...

Meridian, Biotrin call off merger talks, decline to provide details.
November 13, 2002... DUBLIN, Ireland -- The merger between Meridian Bioscience Inc. and Biotrin Holdings plc is off. The two companies released identically worded announcements Friday, stating that they "terminated negotiations and ceased further discussions...

EU launches its new research program at 3-day conference.
November 13, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union launched its 17.5 billion [euro] 2003-2006 research support program Monday at a three-day conference in Brussels titled "Research 2002," which the EU said was "the biggest-ever conference on science and...

Biotech investing strategies shift to deal with bear market. (Sachs Bloomberg Investor Forum).
November 13, 2002... MUNICH, Germany -- Among concerns about consolidation and valuation, biotechnology companies and investors at the Sachs Bloomberg Investor Forum in Munich last week looked at financial trends shaping the industry. First, the generally...

Genome Campus at science park finally granted ok to go ahead.
November 13, 2002... LONDON -- After five years of wrangling, planning permission has been granted for a science park at the Genome Campus in Cambridge to allow companies to set up alongside the academics at the Sanger Institute who carried out the UK's share of...

Genfit enters cardiovascular deal with Japanese company.
November 13, 2002... PARIS -- The French biotechnology company Genfit SA signed a research collaboration agreement with the pharmaceutical division of Kowa Co., a Japanese conglomerate whose activities span a number of industries. The collaboration is aimed at...

4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, reached its first milestone in a research collaboration with Recordati, of Milan, Italy. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, reached its first milestone in a research collaboration with Recordati, of Milan, Italy. In three months, 4SC evaluated a pool of more than 3.3 million small organic molecules for their binding efficacy on a...

Astex Technology Ltd. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Astex Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, said it joined the Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, thus providing the company with guaranteed access to a new X-ray beamline...

Domantis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, announced a research and license agreement with Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, III., to access Domantis' domain antibody technology. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Domantis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, announced a research and license agreement with Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, III., to access Domantis' domain antibody technology. The partners will collaborate on the identification and optimization of...

Evolutec Ltd., of Oxford, UK, which develops compounds isolated from the saliva of ticks and other parasites, said it received its first IND from the FDA to commence Phase I/II trials of rEV131, derived from tick salivary glands. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Evolutec Ltd., of Oxford, UK, which develops compounds isolated from the saliva of ticks and other parasites, said it received its first IND from the FDA to commence Phase I/II trials of rEV131, derived from tick salivary glands. The trial, in...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered a medicinal chemistry optimization program agreement with British Biotech pie, of Oxford, UK. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered a medicinal chemistry optimization program agreement with British Biotech pie, of Oxford, UK. The agreement covers British Biotech's antibiotic metalloenzyme inhibitor research program, which focuses...

GeneScan Europe AG. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... GeneScan Europe AG, of Freiburg, Germany, will move to the regulated segment of the Deutsche Boerse (DB) as a part of DB's disbandment of the Neuer Markt and GeneScan's ongoing cost-cutting efforts. This segment of the stock market will have...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, initiated a Phase II trial of its therapeutic vaccine Uvidem for metastatic melanoma. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, initiated a Phase II trial of its therapeutic vaccine Uvidem for metastatic melanoma. The trial will be carried out on up to 60 patients at about 10 centers in France, Germany and Australia, and will...

InforSense Ltd., of London, announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca R&D in Molndal, Sweden, to integrate its Kensington Discovery Edition bioinformatics system into AstraZeneca's discovery processes. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... InforSense Ltd., of London, announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca R&D in Molndal, Sweden, to integrate its Kensington Discovery Edition bioinformatics system into AstraZeneca's discovery processes. Terms were not disclosed.

ML Laboratories plc, of Warrington, UK, said it entered a license agreement with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., giving Medarex the right to use ML's Ubiquitous Chromatin Opening Elements (UCOE) gene expression technology in its research programs. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... ML Laboratories plc, of Warrington, UK, said it entered a license agreement with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., giving Medarex the right to use ML's Ubiquitous Chromatin Opening Elements (UCOE) gene expression technology in its research...

NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, and AstraZeneca plc, of London, have selected a second drug candidate for development from the French company's class of anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds known as CINODs (COX-inhibiting nitric oxide donators), which it is developing for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, and AstraZeneca plc, of London, have selected a second drug candidate for development from the French company's class of anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds known as CINODs (COX-inhibiting nitric...

Transgene SA. (Other News To Note).
November 13, 2002... Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, will conduct a Phase II trial of its immunotherapeutic vaccine candidate MVA-Muc1-IL2 in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The trial will be carried out on 25 patients in four to six centers in Europe,...

Serono acquires 92 percent of Genset, collaborates with IVAX.
November 13, 2002... PARIS -- Serono SA now owns 91.8 percent of the equity and voting rights of Genset SA, following the extension of the offering period for its takeover bid from Sept. 12 to Oct. 31. The French Financial Markets Council said on Friday that...

Medicon Valley developing R&D capabilities, attracting attention. (BIO-Scandinavia Conference).
November 20, 2002... COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Medicon Valley, the transnational region spanning the greater Copenhagen area in Denmark and the Skane region in southern Sweden, is laying claim to global leadership in diabetes R&D capability. A new Boston...

Antisoma enters broad deal with Roche, receives $43M up front.
November 20, 2002... LONDON -- Antisoma plc entered a deal with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. that has a headline value of US$500 million, including up-front payments of $43 million, more than Antisoma's market capitalization of 26.4 [pounds sterling] million when the...

Animal breeders could benefit from Swiss pheromone findings.
November 20, 2002... LONDON -- The ability to control the fertility of domestic animals, develop new contraceptives or fertility drugs for humans--and even design perfumes that would act as sexual attractants or bring about desirable changes in mood--could follow...

EuropaBio calls on Europe to support `white biotechnology'.
November 20, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- EuropaBio, the European biotechnology industry association, has issued a call for the European Union to invest in research in sustainable industrial applications using "white biotechnology." To coincide with the launch...

GenOway, CopyRat collaborate to develop rat disease models.
November 20, 2002... PARIS -- GenOway SA signed a research collaboration agreement with the Australian biotechnology company CopyRat Pty. Ltd. for the development of knockout/knock-in rat models. The deal calls for Lyon-based GenOway to incorporate CopyRat stem...

CeNeS' drug, not partner, ready for Phase III of morphine product.
November 20, 2002... LONDON -- CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc said its lead product, morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G), is ready to enter Phase III trials, as it announced additional positive results from its recent Phase II trials. However, it is unclear how the Phase...

Cyclacel Ltd. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * Cyclacel Ltd. CEO Spiro Rombotis was selected as one of 30 Technology Pioneers for 2003 by the World Economic Forum based in Geneva. Technology Pioneers are singled out as CEOs of companies that are developing innovative and transformational...

Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, said it entered a research collaboration with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, said it entered a research collaboration with Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., focused on the development of new drug targets in the field of immunology. Medarex will gain exclusive rights to...

France is not set to start importing embryonic stem cells in the near future. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * France is not set to start importing embryonic stem cells in the near future, since the decree authorizing them, which was issued by the previous minister of research shortly before his government left office in May, has been suspended before...

Due diligence skills need to be in shape before deals are struck. (International Biotech Conference).
November 20, 2002... LONDON -- There may be widespread acknowledgement that partnering and merger and acquisition are currently the only ways for fragmented and cash-strapped European biotechnology to build value, but executives must improve their skills in due...

KS Biomedix Holdings plc. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * KS Biomedix Holdings plc, of Guildford, UK, entered an R&D agreement with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to investigate the use of Bcl-2 proteins...

Oxford GlycoSciences plc. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * Oxford GlycoSciences plc, of Abingdon, UK, said it started a Phase I trial of OGT 923 for glycolipid storage disorders. The compound is an analogue of Zavesca, which earlier this year was approved in Europe after being turned down by the FDA....

PanBio Ltd. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * PanBio Ltd., in Brisbane, Australia, intends to develop a range of fast diagnostic tests using a new approach in checking for the DNA of infectious organisms developed by local researchers. PanBio CEO Mel Bridges said the technology developed...

PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, of Oxford, UK, said it is planning to move five DNA vaccines into clinical trials in 2003. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, of Oxford, UK, said it is planning to move five DNA vaccines into clinical trials in 2003. The vaccines, to be administered by powder injection, are against the flu, herpes simplex virus, HIV, Hanta virus (as...

Prokaria fishing for products in the hot springs of Iceland. (BIO-Scandinavia Conference).
November 20, 2002... COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- DeCode Genetics Inc. put Iceland on the genomics map by gaining exclusive rights to exploiting the country's population genetics resources. Prokaria Ltd., a more low-profile venture, is taking a similar tack with...

Synt:em, Probiodrug partner to develop multiple sclerosis drug.
November 20, 2002... PARIS -- Synt:em and the German company Probiodrug AG have entered a research collaboration to develop a drug candidate for multiple sclerosis. The deal calls for Nimes-based Synt:em to apply its Pep:trans "drug re-engineering" technology...

ReGen Therapeutics plc. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * ReGen Therapeutics plc, of London, reported results from an independent study of its lead product, Colostrinin, in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, showing it induced slight but statistically significant improvement or stabilization of...

Serono SA, of Geneva, and Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., signed a license and commercialization agreement providing for Serono to sell the drug Novantrone in the United States. (Other New To Note).
November 20, 2002... * Serono SA, of Geneva, and Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., signed a license and commercialization agreement providing for Serono to sell the drug Novantrone in the United States. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed....

The Hungarian Biotechnology Association. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * The Hungarian Biotechnology Association, a newly formed body representing the biotechnology industry in Hungary, said it joined EuropaBio, the Brussels, Belgium-based pan-European industry umbrella group. The HBA, which has 15 founding member...

The UK BioIndustry Association. (Other News To Note).
November 20, 2002... * The UK BioIndustry Association named David Chiswell as its new chairman. He will take over from Paul Drayson, CEO of PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, in January. Chiswell founded Cambridge Antibody Technology plc in 1990, and was CEO until...

OGS gains European approval of Zavesca for Gaucher's disease.
November 27, 2002... LONDON -- Oxford GlycoSciences plc said its lead product, Zavesca, a treatment for Gaucher's disease, received marketing authorization from the European Commission and the company plans to launch the product on the European market in the...

NeuroSearch, GSK try again, enter $27m deal on depression.
November 27, 2002... If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. GlaxoSmithKline plc has taken that old adage to heart. Undeterred by the previous failure in Phase II trials of a candidate antidepressant it had licensed from the Danish firm NeuroSearch A/S,...

NMR test for heart disease might have wide applicability.
November 27, 2002... LONDON -- Population screening for cardiovascular disease could be available within just a few years, if the promise of a new test holds true. The test, which involves reading the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of a serum sample,...

EU leaders continue on path to biotechnology coherence. (European Union Roundup).
November 27, 2002... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union member states moved one step closer to a more coherent view of biotechnology Thursday, when senior diplomats reached an outline agreement on some of the sensitive issues still dividing Europe. One of the...

French start-up ObeTherapy gains funds for obesity work.
November 27, 2002... PARIS -- ObeTherapy Biotechnology, a French firm founded in January 2000 to develop therapies for treating obesity and diabetes, has received additional funding of 325,000 [euro] from iXCore, the investment company of an anonymous French...

Correction.
November 27, 2002... A story from the international Biotech Conference in London in the Nov. 20, 2002, issue of BioWorld International should have said Ian Rhodes works for Global Technology Group, PA Consulting. Editor's note: The correction has been made in...

Two more countries sign on for Acambis' smallpox vaccine.
November 27, 2002... LONDON -- As the threat of bioterrorism looms larger, Acambis plc said it has won two further contracts with national governments to supply the smallpox vaccine it is currently developing for the U.S government. John Brown, Acambis' CEO,...

GemVax seeks 12m [euro] for cancer vaccine candidates. (Bio-Scandinavia Conference).
November 27, 2002... COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Norwegian firm GemVax AS is seeking 12 million [euro] in a private financing round to support further clinical development of its collection of peptide-based tumor vaccines. The Oslo-based company, which was spun out...

British Biotech plc, of Oxford, UK, said Phase I data on BB-10901 showed the antibody-directed chemotherapy agent can be safely administered at doses comparable to those that produced antitumor activity in preclinical models. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * British Biotech plc, of Oxford, UK, said Phase I data on BB-10901 showed the antibody-directed chemotherapy agent can be safely administered at doses comparable to those that produced antitumor activity in preclinical models. The study in...

Cambridge Antibody Technology plc. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Cambridge Antibody Technology plc, of Royston, UK, is to spin out work on the use of industrial-scale microarray technology in personalized medicine into a separate company. Kevin Johnson, CAT's chief technology officer, will lead this...

Cancer Research Technology Ltd., of London, entered an industrial/academic collaboration to develop RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing as a tool for target validation and drug discovery. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Cancer Research Technology Ltd., of London, entered an industrial/academic collaboration to develop RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing as a tool for target validation and drug discovery. The collaboration brings together Cambridge...

Cobra Biomanufacturing plc. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Cobra Biomanufacturing plc, of Keele, UK, announced an agreement to manufacture a DNA vaccine against AIDS for the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI). The vaccine will be based on a DNA sequence that elicits an immune response...

ESBATech AG. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * ESBATech AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, said it added an extra CHF4 million (US$2.7 million) to its second round of funding, which it originally closed off in May with CHF10.5 million. Two new investors, Zurich-based Innoventure Capital AG and...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered into several drug discovery and development partnerships. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered into several drug discovery and development partnerships. First, Evotec will be the preferred integrated drug discovery and development service provider for the portfolio companies of Oxford...

Galapagos Genomics NV. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Galapagos Genomics NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, said it received a grant of 1.2 [euro] from the Flemish Institute for the Promotion of Industrial Scientific-Technological Research for bone research. The company plans to use the cash for...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, announced positive initial results in a Phase I/II clinical trial of its prostate cancer vaccine, Eladem. The therapy entails isolating patients' monocytes through cytapheresis, culturing them, and then...

MAT Biotech secures 1.25m [euro] for antibody development.
November 27, 2002... PARIS -- A recently created company specialized in the development of monoclonal antibodies has secured first-round financing of 1.25 million [euro] from iXCore, the investment vehicle of an anonymous French business angel. Named MAT...

Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Lynkeus BioTech GmbH, of Wuerzburg, Germany, entered a collaboration under which Ingenium will provide animal models with specific gene alterations to attempt to validate targets from Lynkeus. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Lynkeus BioTech GmbH, of Wuerzburg, Germany, entered a collaboration under which Ingenium will provide animal models with specific gene alterations to attempt to validate targets from...

Intercell AG. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, began a Phase II study of its therapeutic hepatitis C vaccine. The study is a multicenter, dose-escalation trial among European patients who are hepatitis C-positive and who do not respond to...

BresaGen licenses patent rights related to stem cell programs.
November 27, 2002... SYDNEY, Australia -- BresaGen Ltd. in Melbourne removed a major obstacle to the commercialization of a treatment for Parkinson's disease it is developing using stem cells by buying a set of U.S.-held patents for about A$8.7 million (US$4.9...

Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, which specializes in chemical genomics, began a research collaboration with AstraZeneca AB, of Sodertalje, Sweden, to discover novel compounds that affect a target involved in thrombosis hemostasis. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, which specializes in chemical genomics, began a research collaboration with AstraZeneca AB, of Sodertalje, Sweden, to discover novel compounds that affect a target involved in thrombosis hemostasis. The goal...

NascaCell GmbH, of Tutzing, Germany has signed an agreement with Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, to collaborate on developing assay systems. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * NascaCell GmbH, of Tutzing, Germany has signed an agreement with Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, to collaborate on developing assay systems. Qiagen will incorporate NascaCell's NAB conversion technology into its LiquiChip detection...

PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, of Oxford, UK, said it would accelerate plans to expand its flu vaccine manufacturing capacity. (Other News To Note).
November 27, 2002... * PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, of Oxford, UK, said it would accelerate plans to expand its flu vaccine manufacturing capacity, following the announcement that Wyeth, of Madison, N.J., is stopping production of its FluShield vaccine....