resulting in an estimated 20 percent increase in EMD Serono's employee base from last July to the end of 2014

Addex said it plans to start a Phase IIa study of dipraglurant in a rare dystonia indication in the first half of this year...OPKO also said it is partnering with Pharmsynthez to develop and market several OPKO products for sale in Russia and certain other Eastern European countries...The assets are to be acquired in exchange for the satisfaction and discharge of $15 million outstanding under the secured notes

In separate news, another Galapagos unit, Argenta, inked a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, to apply its respiratory drug discovery services to an undisclosed target within Boehringer's respiratory disease portfolio

Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, said it acquired two positron emission tomography tracers from Siemens Medical Solutions intended to image tau tangles in the brain, one of two known hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease

The funding will be used to formulate antigens using Immunovaccine's DepoVax adjuvant technology...The company is expected to roll out the drug to pharmacies within 90 days. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 23, 2012, and March 27, 2013

Eddingpharm, of Hong Kong, said it inked a joint venture (JV) agreement with Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, of Parma, Italy, to establish Chiesi Edding Hong Kong Ltd...The JV is controlled 51 percent by Eddingpharm and 49 percent by Chiesi and will leverage Eddingpharm's marketing platform to facilitate wide and quick commercialization of key products of Chiesi in the respiratory therapeutic area in China

to begin a Phase IIa trial of BL-8040, a selective antagonist of chemokine receptor CXCR4, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML...According to the terms, Shasun will be able to use the Debiopharm technology to manufacture synthetic Huperzine-A under GMP quality conditions and commercialize it in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets...In other news, GSK experienced manufacturing delays for manufacture and supply of Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil), partnered with XenoPort Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif

Merck KGgA, of Darmstadt, Germany, reported that a collaboration agreement between its subsidiary, EMD Serono Inc., and Pfizer Inc., of New York, inked in July 2002 for the co-promotion of multiple sclerosis drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a) extends until Dec. 31, 2015, according to an appellate court ruling...EMD Serono had contended that the collaboration should end on Dec. 31, 2013, and has asked the court to reconsider its ruling...In separate news, Merck Serono SA, of Geneva, a division of Merck

According to Epivax Inc., of Providence, R.I., the new H7N9 flu virus has serious potential for rapid expansion on a global scale...To date, 60 people have been confirmed infected with H7N9 in China, with 13 deaths...The DSMB met every six months to review safety data from the trials, and will not now meet again until the data is locked and unblinded for a final assessment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, will invest $250 million to expand its large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Devens, Mass., introducing biologics development and clinical trial manufacturing capabilities and adding about 350 employees...Work is expected to begin in late 2013

GSK is working to resolve the issues with its contract manufacturer, and it is expected that new inventory of Horizant will be available in pharmacies in June...PRCN-829 is designed to deliver multiple genes, including Factor H, to neural stem cells

In the most recent action in the case, the mass torts law firm of Watts Guerra LLP, of San Antonio, has filed a motion to consolidate the incretins litigation nationally...Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, is the target of a proposed national class-action lawsuit by the Toronto law firm of McPhadden Samac Tuovi LLP, relating to the blood thinner Pradax (dabigatran etexilate...Pradax is used to prevent clotting in patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation

The company previously disclosed plans to reduce its work force by about 75 percent. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 26, 2013, and March 20, 2013...The deal grants Sarepta rights to UWA's patent portfolio in DMD and enables the firm to build out its exon-skipping pipeline with new candidates based on its phosphodiamidate morpholino oligomer technology

Merck currently markets Noxafil oral suspension for prophylaxis of invasive Aspergillus and Candida infections in patients, 13 and older, at high risk of developing those infections due to being severely immunocompromised...PeptiDream Inc., of Tokyo, and Ipsen SA, of Paris, entered a research collaboration and license option agreement to discover, evaluate, potentially develop and launch therapeutic peptides to treat serious medical conditions in areas of therapeutic focus for Ipsen

According to the terms, Shasun will be able to use the Debiopharm technology to manufacture synthetic Huperzine-A under GMP quality conditions and commercialize it in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets...Advancements from the project are expected to enable rapid and efficient delivery of Inovio's SynCon vaccines for universal flu, HIV and other infectious diseases

The drug is expected to be available by the end of May...GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, and A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, of Singapore, signed a five-year agreement to develop new evidence-based formulations (EBFs) specifically for emerging markets...EBFs are medicines reformulated to provide additional patient benefit

AB103, a rationally designed short peptide designed to modulate the host's inflammatory response through binding to the CD28 dimmer interface, has orphan and fast-track status in the U.S...The company expects to see results from by late summer...The firms will aim to offer pharma and biotech companies a set of fully integrated nuclear receptor drug discovery capabilities by combining expertise in structural biology, medicinal chemistry, biology, DMPK, pharmacology and safety

In other news, Prana reported that it received a A$2.5 million (US$2.6 million) cash refund under the R&D Tax Incentive Program...The refund was received to support research and clinical development of PBT2 for Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as for other Prana research activities into Parkinson's disease and other neurological indications

Mallinckrodt International Finance SA (MIFSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Covidien plc, of Dublin, Ireland, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mallinckrodt plc when Covidien's pharmaceuticals operation is separated from the company's other businesses, and said it plans a private offer of up to $900 million of senior unsecured notes...Subject to shareholder approval, at closing NovaDel will receive $400,000 in cash, 50 million shares of Suda common stock and 10 million options to purchase