BioWorld International articles from September 2004

BioWorld International archives from September 2004

NicOx forms $37M agreement with Pfizer in undisclosed area.
September 1, 2004... PARIS -- NicOx SA and Pfizer Inc. formed a deal in a specific, but undisclosed, field covering a selection of nitric oxide-donating compounds patented by NicOx. NicOx, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, granted New York-based Pfizer an option...

BioAlliance Pharma raises 12m [euro] in series C financing.
September 1, 2004... PARIS -- BioAlliance Pharma SA closed a Series C financing, raising 12 million [euro] from a group of European venture capital companies. It brings to 18 million [euro] the total funding raised by the Paris-based company since its creation...

Potent new oncogene prevents apoptosis, turns cells malignant.
September 1, 2004... LONDON -- A molecule that plays a role in helping cells metastasize could provide an interesting target for those developing therapies against cancer. The molecule, called TrkB, allows cells to ignore signals that normally would induce...

Biovitrum acquires Axelar's oncology project for IGF-1R.
September 1, 2004... Biovitrum AB moved into oncology by acquiring a preclinical platform targeting the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) from Axelar AB for an undisclosed sum. Axelar, founded by Magnus Axelson and Olle Larsson, both professors at...

UCB Pharma to close research sites in U.S. in favor of Europe.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... LONDON -- Going against the current trend, UCB Pharma is to close its U.S. research facility and move the work to Europe, as it reorganizes its research and development in the wake of the 1.5 billion [pounds sterling] (US$2.7 billion)...

7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered a research agreement with AstraZeneca plc, of London, under which it will apply its structure-based approach to drug discovery to targets supplied by AstraZeneca.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * 7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered a research agreement with AstraZeneca plc, of London, under which it will apply its structure-based approach to drug discovery to targets supplied by AstraZeneca. Financial terms were not...

Allergy Therapeutics Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Allergy Therapeutics Ltd., of Worthing, UK, signaled that it is considering an initial public offering in October, seeking to raise 15 million [pounds sterling] (US$26.9 million) on London's Alternative Investment Market, for a valuation of...

Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, and Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a cooperation agreement in mouse genetics.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, and Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a cooperation agreement in mouse genetics. Artemis will apply its ArteMice technology platforms to generate a genetically engineered...

Benitec Ltd., of St. Lucia, Australia, settled its pending patent-infringement case against Genscript Corp., of Piscataway, N.J. As part of the settlement, Genscript gained a worldwide, nonexclusive license to make and sell DNA-directed, RNAi-based products.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Benitec Ltd., of St. Lucia, Australia, settled its pending patent-infringement case against Genscript Corp., of Piscataway, N.J. As part of the settlement, Genscript gained a worldwide, nonexclusive license to make and sell DNA-directed,...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, of Madison, N.J.(Other News To Note)
September 1, 2004... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, of Madison, N.J. The license allows Wyeth to use the PER.C6 cell line for its preclinical adenoviral...

Cryptome Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Cryptome Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, received an about $2 million AusIndustry R&D START grant to support development work on its lead candidate, the anti-coagulant CR001. The grant will fund up to half of the project...

DeCode Genetics Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, said PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned as its independent registered public accounting firm. DeCode noted that PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had been its accounting firm since DeCode's 1996...

Evotec OAI AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said Bernard Questier will depart from his position as chief business officer to "pursue new entrepreneurial challenges." Evotec will not refill the position at the board level.

Gambro AB.(Other News To Note)(Navigant Biotechnologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Gambro AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Navigant Biotechnologies Inc., received $2 million in Department of Defense funding to continue development of its Mirasol pathogen-reduction technology for ensuring the...

Geneva Bioinformatics SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Geneva Bioinformatics SA, of Geneva, released Phenyx, its software platform for the identification and characterization of proteins and peptides from PMF and tandem-MS mass spectrometry data. GeneBio also announced its collaboration with the...

German Ministry of Education and Research.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * The German Ministry of Education and Research nominated eight researchers for its annual BioFuture prize, which awards selected research groups an average of 1.5 million [euro]. The prize aims to support younger research leaders who have not...

Imugene Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Imugene Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said its adenoviral vector technology is being used in an experimental vaccine to protect chickens from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation...

Jerini AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Jerini AG, of Berlin, reported that its Phase II proof-of-concept study in hereditary angioedema study results support the clinical efficacy of Icatibant for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks. In 20 attacks, Icatibant was tested in...

Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * The Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Dresden University of Technology, the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus and Rolf Mockel & Catgut GmbH began a joint research project to develop methods to treat bone injuries with...

LION bioscience AG.(Other News To Note)(BioByte Corp. )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, established two partnerships with cheminformatics companies--BioByte Corp. and ChemNavigator. Financial terms were not disclosed.

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)(Ulrich Delvos)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, named Ulrich Delvos a member of the management board responsible for research and development. Delvos previously was managing director of Aventis Behring GmbH, of Marburg, Germany, and simultaneously...

Merz Pharmaceuticals, of Frankfurt, Germany, began a cooperation with NascaCell IP GmbH, of Munich, Germany, to use NascaCell's aptamers to improve validation of different targets for products in Merz's pipeline.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Merz Pharmaceuticals, of Frankfurt, Germany, began a cooperation with NascaCell IP GmbH, of Munich, Germany, to use NascaCell's aptamers to improve validation of different targets for products in Merz's pipeline. Aptamers are synthetic...

Mologen AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Mologen AG, of Berlin, extended its joint venture in Guangzhou, China, to cover work on its dSLIM immunmodulator technology against acute infectious diseases. The company has added Jinan University's Biopharmaceutical Research and Development...

MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, reported that Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., exercised an option to retain a commercial license for HuCAL antibodies directed against an undisclosed Centocor target involved in inflammatory diseases.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, reported that Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., exercised an option to retain a commercial license for HuCAL antibodies directed against an undisclosed Centocor target involved in inflammatory diseases. In...

Odyssey Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pliva d.d., of Zagreb, Croatia, and Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said clinical findings reported at the International Continence Society meeting in Paris showed that Sanctura (trospium chloride) reduced micturitions (toilet voids) and urge urinary incontinence episodes.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Odyssey Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pliva d.d., of Zagreb, Croatia, and Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said clinical findings reported at the International Continence Society meeting in Paris showed that Sanctura...

PARI GmbH.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * PARI GmbH, of Starnberg, Germany, said European regulatory authorities named its inhaled cyclosporine product an orphan drug for use in lung transplant patients. Based on results from research with artificial lung models, PARI expects that...

Peplin Biotech Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said clinical trials of its lead product, PEP005 Topical, began under the management of Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Peplin Biotech Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said clinical trials of its lead product, PEP005 Topical, began under the management of Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif. The first patients have been enrolled and treated in the Phase I/II program,...

PharmaBrand SA, of Quito, Ecuador, and Generex Biotechnology Corp., of Toronto, expanded their relationship to include an affiliate of the former.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * PharmaBrand SA, of Quito, Ecuador, and Generex Biotechnology Corp., of Toronto, expanded their relationship to include an affiliate of the former. The companies have a joint venture agreement focused on the manufacture, marketing,...

Protemix Corp. Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Protemix Corp. Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand, said findings published in next month's issue of Diabetes show that six months of treatment with Laszarin resulted in a significant reduction toward normal heart size in diabetic patients with...

Roboscreen GmBH, of Leipzig, Germany, licensed its prion protein-specific monoclonal antibody to Prionics AG, of Schlieren, Switzerland.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Roboscreen GmBH, of Leipzig, Germany, licensed its prion protein-specific monoclonal antibody to Prionics AG, of Schlieren, Switzerland. Prionics will evaluate Roboscreen's antibody for use in diagnostic tests. Financial terms of the...

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, said the Federal Trade Commission cleared a drug development agreement between them under Hart-Scott-Rodino Act procedures.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, said the Federal Trade Commission cleared a drug development agreement between them under Hart-Scott-Rodino Act procedures. The partners are working...

Verta Ltd., of St. Petersburg, Russia, was awarded a grant from the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation to evaluate the therapeutic potential of SCV-07 in a hepatitis C virus proof-of-concept trial in Russia.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Verta Ltd., of St. Petersburg, Russia, was awarded a grant from the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation to evaluate the therapeutic potential of SCV-07 in a hepatitis C virus proof-of-concept trial in Russia. Based on earlier...

Xerion Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, lost Leodevico Ilag to Cryptome Pharmaceuticals, of Melbourne, Australia, where he will serve as chief scientific officer.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... * Xerion Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, lost Leodevico Ilag to Cryptome Pharmaceuticals, of Melbourne, Australia, where he will serve as chief scientific officer. Ilag is one of Xerion's founders, and he had worked in numerous...

Arakis' 28m [pounds sterling] third round enough to last until 2007.
September 8, 2004... LONDON -- Arakis Ltd. raised 29 million [pounds sterling] (US$52 million) in its third funding round, providing enough money to take the company to 2007 and allowing it to start U.S. and European Phase III trials of AD 923 in cancer...

Intercell's start-up biovertis receives 12m [euro] in series A.(Biovertis AG)
September 8, 2004... Biovertis AG, of Vienna, Austria, secured up to 12 million [euro] in its first round of venture financing. The company, which was spun off from Intercell AG in September 2003, works to discover and develop antimicrobial drugs for infections...

Ability to image blood vessels could lead to cancer products.
September 8, 2004... LONDON -- A prototype imaging technique that is faster and provides better pictures of internal organs of small animals than existing methods has passed one of its first research evaluations with top marks. The technology could prove useful...

New orphan drug guidance disappoints small EU firms.(EU Roundup)
September 8, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Smaller European biotechnology firms have not responded with enthusiasm to changes in the European Union's system of support for orphan drugs. The European Medicines Agency has changed its instructions to applicants seeking...

Oxford Biomedica's gene therapy product posts good Phase II data.
September 8, 2004... LONDON -- Oxford Biomedica plc announced positive interim Phase II results of its TroVax gene therapy cancer treatment as an adjunct to standard care, showing that patients mounted an immune response despite being on chemotherapy. Eleven...

Creabilis, nautilus aiming to optimize HMGB-1 antagonist.(Creabilis Therapeutics Srl. signed contract with Nautilus Biotech SA )(Company Profile)
September 8, 2004... Creabilis Therapeutics Srl entered what founder and CEO Silvano Fumero described as its "first important" deal with another company, a pact with Nautilus Biotech SA to develop variants of a naturally occurring protein, CT500, that acts as an...

MMI forms Genvax to grow cancer vaccine technology.(Medical Marketing International)
September 8, 2004... LONDON -- The technology management company Medical Marketing International (MMI) has formed a new joint venture, Genvax Ltd., to develop a cancer vaccine technology based on using tetanus toxin as an immune potentiator. The company, a...

7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered a second agreement with Synaptic, a subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * 7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, entered a second agreement with Synaptic, a subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark. As with the previous agreement, 7TM Pharma will apply its site-directed drug discovery approach to 7TM...

Aureus Pharma.(Other News To Note)
September 8, 2004... * Aureus Pharma, of Paris, released new versions of the AurScope databases for G protein-coupled receptor and ADME/drug-drug interactions. In addition, Aureus reported the initial release of a new AurScope Ion Channel database project. The...

Australian Cancer Technology Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, raised about A$3.8 million (US$2.7 million) in gross proceeds through a placement of about 9.5 million ordinary shares at A40 cents apiece and about 1.7 million three-year options,...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said an HIV vaccine produced with its PER.C6 technology would advance to its next phase of clinical trials in the near future.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said an HIV vaccine produced with its PER.C6 technology would advance to its next phase of clinical trials in the near future. Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., made the announcement at the...

DeCode Genetics Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, was named a defendant in a class-action lawsuit that alleges that during the class period between Oct. 29, 2003, and Aug. 26, 2004, defendants caused DeCode's shares to trade at artificially...

Genedata AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Genedata AG, of Basel, Switzerland, reported the release of version 3.0 of Screener, an integrated data analysis and management system for high-throughput screening and compound profiling. Combining information from screening data,...

Genmab A/S.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said Phase II data of HuMax-CD4 in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) showed patients had an average response duration of more than 6.6 months. The duration is based on an analysis of responding mycosis...

GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it opened enrollment for a Phase I/II study of satraplatin and simultaneous radiation therapy in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it opened enrollment for a Phase I/II study of satraplatin and simultaneous radiation therapy in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. The Phase I portion is expected to...

Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, extended its collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to develop bacterial vaccines.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Intercell AG, of Vienna, Austria, extended its collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to develop bacterial vaccines. Aventis Pasteur, the vaccine business of Sanofi-Aventis, and Intercell signed a research and license agreement in...

LION bioscience AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, released LION Target Engine 1.1. LION Target Engine 1.1 is designed to enable scientists in target identification and validation to access all available life science data through a simplified web...

MediGene AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, began a Phase I/II trial of NV1020 for liver metastases developing from colorectal cancer. The trial will evaluate safety, tolerability and efficacy of the product in about 30 patients, as well as its...

MorphoSys AG.(Other News To Note)
September 8, 2004... * MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, will be added to the TecDAX index as of Sept. 20. The TecDAX tracks the performance of the 30 largest technology companies in the Deutsche Boerse's Prime Standard category listed at the Frankfurt Stock...

Oy Jurilab Ltd., of Kupio, Finland, entered an agreement with Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corp., of Tokyo, under which Summit will promote its disease gene discovery and pharmacogenetics research programs and research services in Japan.(Other News To Note)
September 8, 2004... * Oy Jurilab Ltd., of Kupio, Finland, entered an agreement with Summit Pharmaceuticals International Corp., of Tokyo, under which Summit will promote its disease gene discovery and pharmacogenetics research programs and research services in...

Protherics plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Protherics plc, of Runcorn, UK, filed for approval of its DigiFab treatment for Digoxin toxicity in the UK. The polyclonal antibody was approved by the FDA in 2001 and Protherics booked 6 million [pounds sterling] (US$10.8 million) in...

Serono SA.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Serono SA, of Geneva, will receive a license fee of $67 million, payable in annual installments over the next three years, for a license it granted for a "non-core technology." The payment is being made as an alternative to future royalties,...

Techno Venture Management.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Techno Venture Management, of Munich, Germany, promoted Annegret de Baey to principal in the life science team. TVM also added Jens Eckstein as a principal in its life science research team in Boston.

Xenova Group plc, of Slough, UK, completed the sale of its manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta, to Edmonton-based QSV Biologics Ltd. for C$7 million (US$5.4 million).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2004... * Xenova Group plc, of Slough, UK, completed the sale of its manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta, to Edmonton-based QSV Biologics Ltd. for C$7 million (US$5.4 million). The sale concludes the planned disposals and cost-reduction program...

Karo Bio seeking SEK96m, cutting 20 R&D employees.
September 15, 2004... Karo Bio AB is laying off 20 staff members as part of an overall effort to re-orient the company toward clinical development. The cuts primarily affect drug discovery research staff, but employees from other parts of the organization also...

FDA's decision on Omnitrope points to biogeneric haziness.(Food and Drug Administration)
September 15, 2004... LONDON -- Biopharmaceuticals with global sales of $10 billion will lose patent protection by 2007, but pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with ambitions to market generic versions now find themselves in limbo after the FDA joined the...

Antibiotic cage gives clues for design of new therapies.
September 15, 2004... LONDON -- Insights into how a common antibacterial agent forms a cage around a key component of bacterial cell walls could help pharmacologists design new antibiotics to replace those no longer effective. Researchers working in the...

Scientists grow stem cell line with cystic fibrosis mutation.
September 15, 2004... LONDON -- An embryonic stem cell line with the mutation for cystic fibrosis has been developed at King's College London, opening the way for a new approach to treatments for the inherited lung disease. It is the first human embryonic stem...

Newron moving safinamide into Parkinson's pivotal trial.
September 15, 2004... Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA moved its lead compound, safinamide, into a pivotal Phase III trial involving 240 patients with Parkinson's disease. CEO Luca Benatti told BioWorld International that the company is looking to launch the product...

American Oriental Bioengineering Inc., of Hong Kong, completed its acquisition of the Chinese pharmaceutical company Heilongjiang Songhuajiang Pharmaceutical Ltd. (HSPL).(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * American Oriental Bioengineering Inc., of Hong Kong, completed its acquisition of the Chinese pharmaceutical company Heilongjiang Songhuajiang Pharmaceutical Ltd. (HSPL). American Oriental entered the agreement in May to purchase HSPL for...

Aphoenix Inc., of Tokyo, and Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, entered a three-year drug discovery collaboration.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Aphoenix Inc., of Tokyo, and Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, entered a three-year drug discovery collaboration. Anadys will apply its drug discovery capabilities to discover and advance lead compounds against Aphoenix targets in...

Atugen AG, of Berlin, signed a collaboration agreement with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to identify short-interfering RNA (siRNA) compounds with potential for therapeutic development.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Atugen AG, of Berlin, signed a collaboration agreement with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to identify short-interfering RNA (siRNA) compounds with potential for therapeutic development. The companies said they plan to combine Atugen's siRNA...

Biotechnology industry laments EU indecision on GM thresholds.
September 15, 2004... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European biotechnology industry expressed renewed disappointment over hesitancy by the European Union on biotechnology decisions. The EU's civil service, the European Commission, hesitated on Sept. 8 to set...

Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, acquired North American rights to a developmental pancreatic cancer drug from RESprotect GmbH, of Dresden, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, acquired North American rights to a developmental pancreatic cancer drug from RESprotect GmbH, of Dresden, Germany. The drug, RP101, has demonstrated positive results in a Phase I/II...

BioImage A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, signed an agreement with Merck & Co Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., granting Merck a license to use its Redistribution technology in its drug discovery research.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * BioImage A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, signed an agreement with Merck & Co Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., granting Merck a license to use its Redistribution technology in its drug discovery research. The Redistribution patent portfolio...

Brain Biotechnology AG, of Zwingenberg, Germany, reached an agreement with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Genencor International Inc.'s European research facility in Leiden, the Netherlands.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Brain Biotechnology AG, of Zwingenberg, Germany, reached an agreement with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Genencor International Inc.'s European research facility in Leiden, the Netherlands. Brain Biotechnology will provide metagenomic libraries and...

Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, said it will start a Phase I trial of CAT-354, a human anti-IL-13 monoclonal antibody, for severe asthma, following recent approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products...

Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, and Diagnostic Products Corp., of Los Angeles, entered a collaboration for the development and commercialization of diagnostic products, with an anticipated focus in the cancer and cardiovascular fields.(Other News To Note)
September 15, 2004... * Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, and Diagnostic Products Corp., of Los Angeles, entered a collaboration for the development and commercialization of diagnostic products, with an anticipated focus in the cancer and cardiovascular fields. Terms of...

Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Sittard, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 deal with MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and contract manufacturer DSM Biologics, of Sittard, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 deal with MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany. MorphoSys gains rights to use the technology in its antibody research...

Cyclacel Group plc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Cyclacel Group plc, of Dundee, Scotland, began patient enrollment in a third Phase I trial of CYC682, a cancer drug acting on the cell cycle. CYC682, an orally available small-molecule nucleoside analogue drug, is Cyclacel's second candidate...

DeCode Genetics Inc.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP as its new independent registered public accounting firm. The move follows the resignation of its prior auditor. DeCode uses population genetics to combat disease.

Euroscreen SA, of Brussels, Belgium, entered an agreement with Cisbio International, of Orlando, Fla, in which it will use Cisbio's HTRF cAMP assay for the validation.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Euroscreen SA, of Brussels, Belgium, entered an agreement with Cisbio International, of Orlando, Fla, in which it will use Cisbio's HTRF cAMP assay for the validation of Euroscreen's recombinant cell lines and membranes expressing Gi and...

Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, and Evotec Neurosciences GmbH formed a three-year research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, to identify and develop small-molecule therapeutics acting on selected G protein-coupled receptors.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, and Evotec Neurosciences GmbH formed a three-year research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, to identify and develop small-molecule therapeutics acting on selected G...

Genable Technologies Ltd.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Genable Technologies Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland, raised 1.1 million [euro] (US$1.3 million) in first-round funding from Delta Partners, also of Dublin. The company, a spinout from Trinity College Dublin, is developing gene-based therapies for...

German National Ethics Council.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * The German National Ethics Council voted to retain the country's prohibition on cloning for research purposes. Minister of Education and Research Edelgard Bulmahn said that scientific progress continues to require careful attention to the...

Global Genomics AB.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Global Genomics AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said findings published in Nucleic Acids Research detail the company's tangerine gene-expression profiling method. Specifically, the paper describes the features of tangerine gene-expression profiling...

Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, agreed to grant exclusive license and distribution rights for Palonosetron in the UK to Cambridge Laboratories Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, agreed to grant exclusive license and distribution rights for Palonosetron in the UK to Cambridge Laboratories Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland. The product, which is under registration in Europe, is a...

ID Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, completed its acquisition of the vaccines business of Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc, of Basingstoke, UK.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * ID Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, completed its acquisition of the vaccines business of Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc, of Basingstoke, UK. The deal, worth $120 million, was reported in the spring. Also, Shire acquired...

Jerini AG.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Jerini AG, of Berlin, began its U.S. and Canadian pivotal registration study with Icatibant in a subcutaneous formulation for hereditary angioedema. The final protocol for a European multicenter pivotal registration study will be submitted...

Lyfjathroun hf Biopharmaceuticals.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * Lyfjathroun hf Biopharmaceuticals, of Reykjavik, Iceland, said Phase I results showed its sumatriptan nasal spray to be safe and well tolerated as an acute migraine treatment. Blood levels of the intranasal test products reached peak...

NascaCell IP GmbH, of Munich, Germany, began a collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to use NascaCell's aptamers for accelerated target validation.(Other News To Note)(Brief Article)
September 15, 2004... * NascaCell IP GmbH, of Munich, Germany, began a collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis, of Paris, to use NascaCell's aptamers for accelerated target validation. Aptamers are synthetic oligonucleotides with binding characteristics similar to small...