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

Anacor also will create an expanded library of boron compounds to screen for additional potential drug candidates to treat neglected diseases and will provide access to the expanded library to the Gates Foundation and others, including academic, governmental and other nonprofit institutions or equivalent entities...The spinout is intended to split the clinical RVX-208 program from the epigenetics platform to create distinct corporate environments so Resverlogix is structurally ready for acquisition

to temporarily reduce the amount of cash holdings it is required to maintain from $3.75 million to $1 million until May 1

Valeant has granted Actavis the exclusive right to co-promote Zovirax cream to obstetricians and gynecologists in the U.S., and Actavis has granted Valeant the exclusive right to co-promote Actavis Specialty Brands' Cordran Tape (flurandrenolide) product in the U.S...and, Kayexalate is prescribed to remove dangerously high levels of potassium in the blood

Covis Pharma Sarl, of Zug, Switzerland, inked a deal with affiliates of Paris-based Sanofi SA to acquire full commercial rights to Nilandron (nilutamide), Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), Rilutek (riluzole), Uroxatral (alfuzosin hydrochloride) and Kayexalate (sodium polystyrene sulfate) in the U.S. Sanofi will retain rights to the products outside of the U.S. Financial terms were not disclosed

ImmunoGen Inc., of Waltham, Mass., and Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, amended their multitarget agreement inked in October 2010, allowing Novartis to take a license to develop and commercialize products directed at two pre-defined and related undisclosed targets – one licensed on an exclusive basis and the other on a nonexclusive basis...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

Maturation inhibitors are designed to block virus replication by interfering with the formation of infectious HIV virus...Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin, is used to improve the solubility and stability of drugs and currently is incorporated in six marketed products...SionX is designed to enable high-density expression of recombinant human ion channels on the cell membranes of Tetrahymena thermophile

In other news, GSK recently agreed to a nonexclusive material transfer, patent and know-how license deal with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) for the development and manufacture of a next-generation polio vaccine...Terms include certain milestones and tiered royalty payments to the HPA in return for technology transfer and other licensing rights

To help launch the initiative, the president's 2014 budget will call for about $100 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation...Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, to develop an anti-inflammatory product to treat acute and chronic pain in the U.S

UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said its Canadian subsidiary received Health Canada approval for Neupro (rotigotine), a non-ergolinic dopamine agonist in patch form, for treating the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease and moderate to severe idiopathic restless legs syndrome in adults

Ferro Corp., of Cleveland, sold its pharmaceuticals business, Pfanstiehl Laboratories, to PLI Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Med Opportunity Partners LLC, for $16.9 million in cash and an earn-out incentive payment of up to $8 million, payable over two years based on earnings targets...The move is part of a strategy by Ferro to divest non-core businesses and drive growth from its Performance Materials and Performance Chemicals businesses...The exchange offer is being carried out to satisfy obligations

to explore strategic options for Stedivaze, a highly selective adenosine A2A agonist in development as a pharmacological stress agent for use in myocardial perfusion imaging...The company plans to use the funding to advance its vaccine candidate, designed to block transmission against malaria...The company's technology fuses candidate vaccine antigens from malaria to self-assembling proteins from the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena, to create nanometer-sized particles called G-Somes that have the

The company's board of directors approved the implementation of a reverse stock split and determined the appropriate reverse stock split ratio to be a ratio of 1-for-7 on March 22

DSP will exclusively discuss with RIJ to collaborate in and outside Japan...RIJ said it aims to commercialize the world's first pharmaceutical iPS cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells...Completion of the rights sale under the APA is subject to certain third-party and Chinese regulatory approvals

Omeros said it plans to submit an application in Europe to start clinical trials in the second quarter...In other news, SCT closed its previously announced private placement for gross proceeds of C$3.2 million (US$3.1 million

The agreement allows the HPA to contribute to global polio eradication, while securing a commitment from a major pharma firm to develop use of its technology...Terms include certain milestones and tiered royalty payments to the HPA in return for technology transfer and other licensing rights

Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., said the FDA approved Aciphex Sprinkle delayed-release capsules for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children, ages 1 to 11, for up to 12 weeks

Ltd., of Yokohama, Japan, to use its cell-loading system to support clinical studies and commercialize treatment of cancer patients...The new partners plan to start clinical trials following an investigational new drug application later this year...Themis plans to start Phase I for both vaccines before the end of this year