BioWorld International articles from November 2004

BioWorld International archives from November 2004

Actelion shares slide on Phase III failure of Veletri.
November 10, 2004... Actelion Ltd. lost almost one-quarter of its value Monday following news that it halted a Phase III trial of its drug for acute heart failure, Veletri, after an interim analysis indicated that it would fail to attain its primary endpoints. ...

NeuroSearch, GSK Halt NS2359 in ADHD, switch to depression.(NeuroSearch A/S and GlaxoSmithKline PLC devloping drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
November 10, 2004... NeuroSearch A/S and GlaxoSmithKline plc shelved the development of NS2359 in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), following an interim analysis of a Phase II trial that showed the compound did not meet its primary endpoint. ...

Sixth Parkinson's Gene might reveal therapeutic strategies.
November 10, 2004... LONDON -- A new understanding of the molecular pathways that lead to Parkinson's disease might result from the discovery of a sixth gene linked to an inherited form of the condition. The researchers who made the finding predict that it will...

Sonus buying French firm in $30m stock transaction.
November 10, 2004... Adding three preclinical drug candidates for pain to its pipeline, Sonus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is acquiring the French firm Synt:em for $10 million in stock up front, and $20 million more as development milestone payments. Sonus' shares...

Inpharmatica raises 13.9m [pounds sterling] to fuel firm until profitability.
November 10, 2004... LONDON -- Inpharmatica plc raised 13.9 million [pounds sterling] (US$25 million) in a third-round funding that should bring it to profitability in the next three years and enable the company to accelerate its internal drug discovery programs to...

4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Sanofi-Aventis Group, of Paris, completed a research agreement.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and Sanofi-Aventis Group, of Paris, completed a research agreement. The former used its High-Throughput Screening technology to identify and provide small molecules predicted to bind to two targets from...

Active Biotech AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, began Phase I trials of its candidate drug 57-57 against systemic lupus erythematosus. The trials entail a dose-escalation study of ABR-215757 in parallel groups of healthy volunteers. The study is taking...

EU re-awakening wanted for biotechnology industry.
November 10, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- On Nov. 5, the heads of state of the 25 member countries of the European Union committed themselves to making progress with the stalled strategy to boost the competitiveness of European industry--particularly in...

AusBiotech, ASX working to finalize reporting guidelines.
November 10, 2004... SYDNEY, Australia -- Leading Australian firm AusBiotech will this week announce a committee to consider a draft code of best practice for life sciences companies reporting results and making announcements. Proponents hope that a finalized...

Affimed Therapeutics AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, signed a partnership to co-develop one of its Tandab antibodies with the biopharmaceutical unit of Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Affimed Therapeutics AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, signed a partnership to co-develop one of its Tandab antibodies with the biopharmaceutical unit of Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland. Tandabs recruit the body's immune system to fight cancers...

Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., expanded their antibody collaboration to include the production of fully human monoclonal antibodies against up to six additional targets.(Other News To Note)
November 10, 2004... * Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., expanded their antibody collaboration to include the production of fully human monoclonal antibodies against up to six additional targets. They already are...

Antisoma plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Antisoma plc, of London, released data showing that one of its telomere-targeting agents (TTA) blocks prostate tumor growth in a human xenograft model. The findings increase the number of cancers found to be susceptible to TTAs, and the...

AstraZeneca plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * AstraZeneca plc, of London, presented data demonstrating Iressa's (gefitinib) antitumor activity as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy in a variety of common solid tumors. Researchers saw encouraging disease control rates of...

Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said its 1-for-10 rights issue closed, raising A$4 million (US$3 million) through subscriptions and a sub-underwritten shortfall placed by Burdett Buckeridge Young Ltd. to its institutional clients.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said its 1-for-10 rights issue closed, raising A$4 million (US$3 million) through subscriptions and a subunderwritten shortfall placed by Burdett Buckeridge Young Ltd. to its...

Axis-Shield plc.(Other News To Note)(Carolina Liquid Chemistries Corp)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Axis-Shield plc, of Dundee, UK, said it reached a settlement with Carolina Liquid Chemistries Corp., of Delaware, over sales of homocysteine tests based on Axis' patents. To settle the lawsuit brought by Axis, CLCC will pay a royalty all...

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Basilea Pharmaceutica AG, of Basel, Switzerland, moved its cephalosporin antibiotic, ceftobiprole (BAL5788), into a Phase III trial in complicated skin and skin-structure infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The...

Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide Australia, was awarded a A$247,000 (US$187,000) federal government Biotechnology Innovation Fund grant to further work on developing targets for antibody treatments that inhibit blood vessel formation in cancer and other diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and rheumatoid arthritis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide Australia, was awarded a A$247,000 (US$187,000) federal government Biotechnology Innovation Fund grant to further work on developing targets for antibody treatments that inhibit blood vessel formation in cancer and...

Biovitrum AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, is splitting its research and development organization into two units that will focus on basic research and discovery and preclinical and clinical development. The move is intended to increase the company's...

Borean Pharma A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Borean Pharma A/S, of Aarhus, Denmark, promoted chief operating officer Johanna Holldack to CEO. Holldack, who joined the company a year ago, previously was chief operating officer at MediGene AG, of Munich, Germany, and vice president for...

Cortical Pty. Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Cortical Pty. Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, was awarded a federal government grant of more than A$3 million (US$2.3 million) to develop drugs against inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, multiple sclerosis and colitis....

Cryptome Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Cryptome Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said Mathew Vadas will be interim CEO, subject to release by the Institute for Medical and Veterinary Science in Adelaide. Vadas is the company's chief scientific adviser and chairman of...

Cyclacel Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Cyclacel Group plc, of Dundee, UK, said preclinical data reported at last week's American Society for Nephrology meeting pointed to the activity of its experimental CDK inhibitor drug, seliciclib (CYC202 or R-roscovitine), in two models of...

Elan Corp. plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said it expects to provide additional guarantees of the outstanding 7.25 percent senior notes issued by its wholly owned subsidiary, Athena Neurosciences Finance LLC, and guaranteed by Elan. The guarantees...

Genapta Ltd. of Cambridge, UK, completed the first stage in the development of an optical screening system for quantifying the transient binding of potential drug compounds to protein targets.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Genapta Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, completed the first stage in the development of an optical screening system for quantifying the transient binding of potential drug compounds to protein targets. The company, a spinout from Cambridge...

GeneMedix plc.(Other News To Note)(Southridge Capital Management LLC)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * GeneMedix plc, of Newmarket, UK, agreed to a $10 million financing facility with Southridge Capital Management LLC, of Ridgefield, Conn. Southridge also invested 292,000 [pounds sterling] (US$542,368) in the biogenerics company, in exchange...

Igeneon AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Igeneon AG, of Vienna, Austria, said Phase II survival data reported at the International Society for the Biological Treatment of Cancer meeting in San Francisco showed that use of its IGN101 cancer vaccine produced a statistically...

Immuno-Designed Molecules SA.(Other News To Note)(Walter Reed Army Institute of Research)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Md., entered a three-year research and development deal to develop a cancer vaccine incorporating the KSA antigen. IDM owns worldwide...

Imugene Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Imugene Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, received a A$250,000 (US$189,337) Commonwealth government Biotechnology Innovation Fund grant for work on developing an avian influenza vaccine. The candidates use Imugene's platform Adenoviral Delivery...

IT.Omics, of Lille, France, agreed to grand Galderma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, access to the LSGraph technology for dermatology-related marker and target discovery.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * IT.Omics, of Lille, France, agreed to grant Galderma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, access to the LSGraph technology for dermatology-related marker and target discovery. The technology is used to mine functional relationships between known...

Microscience Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Microscience Ltd., of Wokingham, UK, reported results from a Phase I trial of its spi-VECTM oral immunotherapeutic vaccine designed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection. The trial met its primary objectives and demonstrated...

Nonlinear Dynamics Ltd., of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and GenoLogics Life Sciences Software Inc., of Victoria, British Columbia, entered a global partnership to work toward a fully integrated protein informatics solution.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Nonlinear Dynamics Ltd., of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and GenoLogics Life Sciences Software Inc., of Victoria, British Columbia, entered a global partnership to work toward a fully integrated protein informatics solution. The deal brings...

Novozymes A/S, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark, entered a collaboration with Solvay Pharmaceuticals BV, of Brussels, Belgium, to develop products for enzyme-replacement therapy for patients suffering from pancreatic exocrine insufficiency.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Novozymes A/S, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark, entered a collaboration with Solvay Pharmaceuticals BV, of Brussels, Belgium, to develop products for enzyme-replacement therapy for patients suffering from pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. They expect...

NsGene A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported that Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., moved Neublastin, NsGene's protein, from research into development in neuropathic pain.(Other News To Note)
November 10, 2004... * NsGene A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported that Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., moved Neublastin, NsGene's protein, from research into development in neuropathic pain. NsGene and Biogen Idec entered a license and collaboration...

Nucleonics Inc., of Horsham, Pa., filed with Australian authorities a request for re-examination of Benitec Ltd., of Queensland, Australia, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's Australian Innovation Patent No. 2001100608, called "Control of Gene Expression.".(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Nucleonics Inc., of Horsham, Pa., filed with Australian authorities a request for re-examination of Benitec Ltd., of Queensland, Australia, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's Australian Innovation Patent No....

Peplin Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Peplin Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, reported plans to raise A$10.2 million (US$7.7 million) through the issuance of about 24.3 million shares at a discounted price of A42 cents each. The company plans to use the funds for Phase II trials of...

PharmaMar SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * PharmaMar SA, of Madrid, Spain, presented new data on Yondelis and Aplidin at the 29th European Society for Medical Oncology meeting held in Vienna, Austria. Data showed that the combination of Yondelis with Doxil was safe and feasible,...

ProBioGen AG, of Berlin, entered a cell line development program with Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * ProBioGen AG, of Berlin, entered a cell line development program with Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. ProBioGen will use its position-mediated expression-enhancement strategy to develop cell lines for the company's...

Proteom Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, an in silico drug design company, agreed to a partnership with 14TM Ltd., also of Cambridge, to design novel ligands for a range of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets.(Other News To Note)
November 10, 2004... * Proteom Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, an in silico drug design company, agreed to a partnership with 14TM Ltd., also of Cambridge, to design novel ligands for a range of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets. 14TM will supply proprietary models...

Selectchemie AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, and Chiral Quest Inc., a subsidiary of VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., entered a distribution agreement for Eastern Europe.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Selectchemie AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, and Chiral Quest Inc., a subsidiary of VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., entered a distribution agreement for Eastern Europe. Selectchemie will distribute Chiral Quest's...

Serono SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Serono SA, of Geneva, said new product features designed to make Rebif (interferon beta-1a) therapy easier and more comfortable to administer are available for patients with multiple sclerosis. The Rebiject II autoinjection device was...

Tripep AB.(Other News To Note)(Jan Nilsson )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * Tripep AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, named Jan Nilsson CEO. Nilsson, currently CEO of the Swedish subsidiary of Schering-Plough Corp., of Kenilworth, N.J., will take up his new post on Dec. 1. He succeeds interim CEO Anders Vahlne, who remains...

UK BioIndustry Association.(Other News To Note)
November 10, 2004... * UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) welcomed the initiation of a government-sponsored consultation process that will investigate the BIA's claims that shareholders' preemption rights prevent companies from responding quickly to funding windows,...

ZGene A/S, of Lyngby, Denmark, acquired a patent covering "a new medical use of a novel gene and vector encoding a multi-substrate deoxyribonucleosidase" from Akademikliniken AB, of Stockholm, Sweden.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2004... * ZGene A/S, of Lyngby, Denmark, acquired a patent covering "a new medical use of a novel gene and vector encoding a multi-substrate deoxyribonucleosidase" from Akademikliniken AB, of Stockholm, Sweden. Terms were not disclosed. The patent,...

CAT slowing down Trabio following failed Phase II/III.(Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc)
November 17, 2004... LONDON -- Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc has begun to wind down expenditure on Trabio, the first antibody it has developed in-house, after the product failed to meet its primary endpoint in a European Phase II/III pivotal trial. ...

International biotech meets to gauge sector's progress.(BIO-Europe 2004)
November 17, 2004... COLOGNE, Germany -- More than 1,400 delegates from across the continent gathered here last week at BIO-Europe 2004 for one-on-one meetings amid signs of a stable, but challenging economic environment for the sector. Julia Schueler, of...

Colon cancer trial exposes need for mutations search.
November 17, 2004... LONDON -- Trawling for rare variants of genes thought to have a role in diseases might be the best way to identify people at risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Type II diabetes, a new...

Procognia agrees to deal with Sigma-Aldrich, raises $23.5m.
November 17, 2004... LONDON -- Procognia Ltd. raised $23.5 million to finance the generation of protein function arrays for use in drug discovery, and agreed to an exclusive distribution agreement for the arrays with Sigma-Aldrich Corp., of St. Louis. Chris...

Zyentia raises first round, forms partnership in Spain.
November 17, 2004... LONDON -- Protein-folding specialist Zyentia Ltd. secured first-round funding of 1.5 million [pounds sterling] (US$2.8 million) and formed its first research collaboration to discover compounds that prevent the early stages of protein...

Abnova Corp.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Abnova Corp., of Taipei, Taiwan, joined forces with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) for high-throughput monoclonal antibody production. EMBL's adjunctive technologies relating to automated platform and monoclonal antibody...

Active Biotech AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, said shareholders approved the board's decision to issue a debenture loan at a nominal amount of about SEK150 million (US$21.3 million) through the issue of about 3.7 million convertible debentures. The debt...

Nautilus, Serono form deal for growth hormone development.
November 17, 2004... PARIS -- Serono SA and Nautilus Biotech signed a co-development and commercialization agreement for a next-generation human growth hormone designed to have an improved biological, pharmacological and clinical profile, allowing less-frequent...

Almirall Prodesfarma SA, of Barcelona, Spain, and Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, entered a Licensing agreement for A2A receptor antagonists for Parkinson's disease.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Almirall Prodesfarma SA, of Barcelona, Spain, and Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, entered a licensing agreement for A2A receptor antagonists for Parkinson's disease. The companies will share territorial rights and registration data...

Avecia Biotechnology Inc., of Billingham, UK, and Acuity Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Philadelphia, signed a long-term manufacturing agreement for pharmaceutical-grade supplies of Acuity's lead product Cand5.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Avecia Biotechnology Inc., of Billingham, UK, and Acuity Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Philadelphia, signed a long-term manufacturing agreement for pharmaceutical-grade supplies of Acuity's lead product Cand5. A small interfering RNA (siRNA), Cand5...

Bionomics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, said it has new data that show that gene-silencing molecules developed by the company inhibit tumor growth in a breast cancer model. The gene-silencing molecules target BN069, one of Bionomics' drug...

Biotie Therapies Corp., of Turku, Finland, granted Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, the North American rights to oral nalmefene hydrochloride for the Treatment of impulse-control disorders.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Biotie Therapies Corp., of Turku, Finland, granted Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, the North American rights to oral nalmefene hydrochloride for the treatment of impulse-control disorders. Nalmefene is a specific and selective...

Britannia Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of London, and airPharma, of Overland Park, Kan., signed a global licensing agreement in which airPharma will develop AP0016, a dry-powder formulation of Britannia's synthetic surfactant, Pumactant.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Britannia Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of London, and airPharma, of Overland Park, Kan., signed a global licensing agreement in which airPharma will develop AP0016, a dry-powder formulation of Britannia's synthetic surfactant, Pumactant. AirPharma...

Cellectricon AB, of Gothenburg, Sweden, launched the Dynaflow Proficient System for increased throughput in ion channel drug screening, following a beta-testing of the new 48-channel chip and software by GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Cellectricon AB, of Gothenburg, Sweden, launched the Dynaflow Proficient System for increased throughput in ion channel drug screening, following a beta-testing of the new 48-channel chip and software by GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London. The...

Crucell NV.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in New York signed an agreement whereby Crucell will develop AdVac vectors for use in IAVI's vaccine development program. Financial details were not...

Eiffel Technologies Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Eiffel Technologies Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, opened operations as a pharmaceutical re-engineering company. It will use its supercritical fluid technology to develop new versions of existing pharmaceuticals to improve their performance,...

Elan Corp. plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, and the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minn., entered an agreement related to each party's Alzheimer's disease research efforts. The agreement resolves a patent dispute regarding certain transgenic mice...

Exiqon A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Exiqon A/S, of Vedbaek, Denmark, released two new ProbeLibrary expression-analysis kits covering the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and Drosophila melanogaster. The kits can respectively detect 99 and 98 percent of the Drosophila melanogaster...

ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, entered a research collaboration to combine its alternative RNA-splicing technologies with a microarray platform from Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... ExonHit Therapeutics SA, of Paris, entered a research collaboration to combine its alternative RNA-splicing technologies with a microarray platform from Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif. The partners are working together to...

Galapagos Genomics NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, reached a research milestone in its osteoporosis discovery program with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical division of Wyeth, of Madison, N.J.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Galapagos Genomics NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, reached a research milestone in its osteoporosis discovery program with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical division of Wyeth, of Madison, N.J. Within the year-old program, Galapagos has...

Gamida-Cell Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, said its Phase I/II study of StemEx for leukemia suggested its flagship product is safe. StemEx is composed of ex vivo expanded cord blood stem/progenitor cells combined with non-expanded cells from the same...

GammaCan International Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... GammaCan International Inc., of Givat Shmuel, Israel, said it may have discovered a therapy to keep certain cancers from spreading or returning in patients. The patented therapy, based on intravenous immunoglobulin, is a concentrated form of...

Golden Hand Resources Inc.(Other News To Note)(licensing agreements)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Golden Hand Resources Inc., of Tel Aviv, Israel, paid an initial license fee and a research and development installment to Ramot, the technology transfer arm of Tel Aviv University, pursuant to their agreement to collaborate on the development...

Imugene Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Imugene Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, completed a pig trial finalizing the product composition and dose of Imugene's new PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) pig vaccine. Individual components of the vaccine were trialed and the...

Innogenetics NV.(Other News To Note)(Frank Morich )(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Innogenetics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, named Frank Morich CEO following the decision of Philippe Archinard to step down. Most recently, he was CEO of AM Pharma. Archinard, who resigned for personal reasons, will remain a nonexecutive director....

IntegraGen SA, of Paris, has licensed gene-testing technology to test for maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) from Correlagen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... IntegraGen SA, of Paris, has licensed gene-testing technology to test for maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) from Correlagen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. IntegraGen has established a German subsidiary in Bonn to provide testing and...

LifeCycle Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, began a clinical trial of a tablet formulation of the immunosuppressant drug tacrolimus, currently marketed as Prograf by Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for treating organ transplant rejection.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... LifeCycle Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, began a clinical trial of a tablet formulation of the immunosuppressant drug tacrolimus, currently marketed as Prograf by Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for treating organ...

LION bioscience AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, said it will voluntarily delist its American depository shares from the Nasdaq National Market and terminate its American depository receipt facility, effective at the close of trading on Dec. 22....

Lonza Biologics plc, a unit of Lonza Group Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, and Inhibitex Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., entered an agreement for the manufacture of Aurexis.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Lonza Biologics plc, a unit of Lonza Group Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, and Inhibitex Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., entered an agreement for the manufacture of Aurexis. The investigational monoclonal antibody is being developed as a first-line...

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, closed a capital increase announced in October, raising 21.6 million [euro] from existing shareholders and new institutional investors. The company said the injection raised its cash reserves to about 52...

Neuronova AG, of Munich, Germany, began a collaboration with Prestwick Chemical Inc., of Illkirch, France, to optimize one of Neuronova's small-molecule candidates with antidepressant properties.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Neuronova AG, of Munich, Germany, began a collaboration with Prestwick Chemical Inc., of Illkirch, France, to optimize one of Neuronova's small-molecule candidates with antidepressant properties. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Nitto Denko Corp., of Osaka, Japan, and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., said they jointly developed a high-performance solid support for the manufacture of oligonucleotides.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Nitto Denko Corp., of Osaka, Japan, and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., said they jointly developed a high-performance solid support for the manufacture of oligonucleotides. Solid support is the base structure used in the...

Noray Bioinformatics SL.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Noray Bioinformatics SL, of Derio, Spain, launched a new bioinformatics software tool, BITIA, to aid decision-making in cancer therapy. BITIA is designed to assist prognosis by combining genomics data with clinico-pathological data derived from...

Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, and Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., signed an agreement granting Merck the worldwide license for ONO-2506, an intravenous compound in Phase II development to treat acute stroke.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, and Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., signed an agreement granting Merck the worldwide license for ONO-2506, an intravenous compound in Phase II development to treat acute stroke. Ono...

Pfizer Inc., of New York, completed its $125 million purchase of the remaining 90 percent ownership of Meridica Ltd. from PA Consulting Group, of London.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Pfizer Inc., of New York, completed its $125 million purchase of the remaining 90 percent ownership of Meridica Ltd. from PA Consulting Group, of London. Meridica is a drug delivery technology company. The transaction, which was announced in...

Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery Inc., of Princeton, N.J., said it would receive a payment after achieving a milestone in its research collaboration with NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery Inc., of Princeton, N.J., said it would receive a payment after achieving a milestone in its research collaboration with NV Organon, of Oss, the Netherlands. Pharmacopeia delivered a lead against a target for...

Pharmaxis Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Pharmaxis Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said its Level One ADR Program was declared effective by the SEC, and its ADRs will trade on the Over-the-Counter exchange as "PHMXY." Under the program, one ADR is equivalent to 15 ordinary shares of...

Pharmexa A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Pharmexa A/S, of Hoersholm, Denmark, said it will initiate the first Phase II trial with the HER-2 Protein AutoVac breast cancer vaccine. The trial will include up to 50 breast cancer patients in Hungary and Poland. It is expected to conclude...

Phytopharm plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Phytopharm plc, of Godmanchester, UK, said that the FDA granted fast-track designation for its drug candidate PYM50018 (Myogane) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Myogane is a patented, orally active, neuroprotective and...

Probi AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Probi AB, of Lund, Sweden, priced a new share issue and outlined plans to seek a full listing on the O-list of the Stockholmsborsen (Stockholm Stock Exchange). It is seeking up to SEK77 million (US$1 1.1 million), primarily in order to...

Promega Corp., of Madison, Wis., filed a motion in a U.S. district court to stop Benitec Ltd., of St. Lucia, Australia, from further licensing activities of ddRNAi technology in the areas in which Promega said it has exclusivity.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... Promega Corp., of Madison, Wis., filed a motion in a U.S. district court to stop Benitec Ltd., of St. Lucia, Australia, from further licensing activities of ddRNAi technology in the areas in which Promega said it has exclusivity. The motion...