BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)

MEDICAL

Renovis, Pfizer in research deal

The neurological drug developer and the drug giant will combine their programs on pain receptor VR1. Pfizer will pay Renovis a $10 mil licensing fee and up to $7 mil in research funds. Renovis forecast up to $7 mil in revenue, up from $2.6 mil. Pfizer will get exclusive rights on resulting products, and Renovis will get milestone payments and royalties. Renovis fell 23% to 13.20. Pfizer fell 1.5% to 27.90.

** Res-Care landed a 2-year, $29.5 mil contract with the Labor Dept; the deal has 3 1-year options. The education support service provider will operate the Guthrie Job corps Center in Oklahoma. Shares fell 4% to 13.33.

** Priority Healthcare will buy all outstanding shares of privately held SpectraCare; terms weren't disclosed. SpectraCare's operations posted $32 mil in revenue in '04. Shares dipped 0.5% to 22.88.

** Vascular Solutions is selling its Pronto catheters in Japan through distribution partner Nihon Koh-den. The firm sees Japan as the No. 2 market for thrombus-aspiration catheters after the U.S. Shares fell 1.5% to 11.98.

** Inverness Medical Innovations will buy tests -- which detect diseases like hepatitis, HIV and syphilis -- from Abbott Labs for $56.5 mil. Inverness, which makes medical tests, rose 1% to 28.30.