The company said it will use the funding to accelerate its research programs in gene therapy and cancer. • Schering-Plough Corp., of Kenilworth, N.J., and Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., said the European Union's Commission of European Communities granted marketing authorization for Remicade with methotrexate for improvement of physical function of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and for the reduction of the rate of progression of joint damage when response to disease-modifying drugs

Troxatyl also is in Phase II trials for the treatment of various cancers. • Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, said the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products validated the marketing authorization application filed in November for Trisenox injection for the treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia

The ATU allows patients with Fabry disease in France to receive treatment with Fabrazyme before marketing authorization for the product is granted in the European Union

The companies will continue to share in development costs, and Paradigm will receive a royalty on any product developed from the collaboration. • QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and partner CIBA Vision Corp., of Atlanta, the eye care division of Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency recommended the granting of a marketing authorization for Visudyne therapy for choroidal neovascularization

The company also received a recommendation for marketing authorization from the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products for Ovidrelle, a recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin

will retain a 68 percent stake in the new company, which will focus on development, manufacture and marketing of diagnostic reagents, instrumentation and software. • Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products recommended granting Ligand European Commission Marketing Authorization for Targretin (bexarotene) for treatment of skin manifestations of advanced-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma refractory to at least one systemic treatment...Ligand

Designation as an orphan medicinal product in the EU allows direct access to the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products' Centralized Procedure for Marketing Authorization Application, and may allow for a partial or total application fee waiver in addition to a 10-year marketing exclusivity period in the EU following approval. • Pharmacyclics Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., said results from the lead-in phase of its ongoing Phase III clinical trial of Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium

BMS will use the technology for generation of internal research knockout mice to gain predictive information about gene products. • Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, received marketing authorization from the European Commission for Panretin gel for the topical treatment of cutaneous lesions in patients with AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma

DP-b99 is designed to control apoptotic processes by regulating the intracellular homeostasis of divalent metal ions. • Elan Corp., of Dublin, Ireland, said the European Commission has granted the company marketing authorization for Myocet, the company's liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate complex, in combination with cyclophosphamide for treatment of metastatic breast cancer

The company has traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol NTII since 1998, and will keep that symbol when listed on Nasdaq. • QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Ciba Vision, the Atlanta-based eye care unit of Novartis AG, said the European Commission granted marketing authorization for Visudyne for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

GCI also has begun a new arrangement with Quiagen Genomics Inc., of Seattle, to provide an integrated solution combining GCI's sample repository and database services with Qiagen's single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping services. • Genzyme General, of Cambridge, Mass., said the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products has validated Genzyme's marketing authorization application for Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta) for Fabry disease, and that the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal

Geron's stock (NASDAQ:GERN) closed Wednesday at $21.062, up 25 cents. • Millennium & Ilex Partners LP, a joint venture of Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Ilex Oncology Inc., of San Antonio, Texas, said that its marketing authorization application for Campath, a humanized monoclonal antibody, was accepted for review by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products

The test will allow physicians to screen for this mutation and adjust treatment accordingly. • QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and CIBA Vision Corp., of Atlanta, said the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products in Europe recommended granting marketing authorization for Visudyne (verteporfin) therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration...The favorable opinion now has to be endorsed by the European Commission before Myocet, formerly called Evacet, receives

In addition, the company raised $4 million with an unnamed institution and three accredited investors. • SangStat Medical Corp., of Fremont, Calif., said that a British court has rejected an attempt by Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to have the UK marketing authorization of SangStat's SangCya (cyclosporine) oral solution revoked...The judge ruled that the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) acted properly in granting the SangCya marketing authorization

The company plans to seek marketing authorizations for a tablet formulation of Periostat in the UK and other countries within the European Union. • Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Doylestown, Pa., received a warrant exercise notice from its largest shareholder, OrbiMed Advisors LLC, of New York

Atrix expects to introduce the product beginning in June after individual country marketing authorizations are issued

No financial terms were released. • Biopure Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., received marketing authorization for Oxyglobin (hemoglobin glutamer-200 bovine) from the European Commission for the treatment of canine anemia, a condition that threatens millions of dogs yearly...The extended agreement provides Select with an exclusive option to license the basic intellectual property relating to antigen presentation to dendritic cells. • Sonus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said that the

The company’s stock (NASDAQ:LJPC) gained 90.6 cents Tuesday, or 94 percent, to close at $1.875. • Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it submitted a marketing authorization application seeking European approval of Targretin capsules for treating patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

submitted a centralized marketing authorization application to the European Union's European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products seeking clearance to market Peg-Intron (Peg-interferon alfa-2b) powder for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in patients 18 years old or older with compensated liver disease. • Epimmune Inc., of San Diego, said data published in the recent issue of Nature Medicine support the company's approach to developing a vaccine for HIV