Aristocrat Group Corp., of Miramar Beach, Fla., initiated talks with an undisclosed biotechnology company that is using NASA technology to develop biomolecular skin care products from stem cells...Nabi plans to return to its stockholders its remaining cash in excess of $27 million, and such distribution is expected to be in the range of $28 million to $31 million in the aggregate

In other news, 3SBio said its special committee of independent directors has retained Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, of New York, as the committee's legal counsel...In other news, Boehringer said it started an open-label U.S...The objectives are to decrease or stabilize the number of blood-circulating CLL cells and to delay the onset of other signs of progression, such as swelling of lymph nodes, which then requires immunochemotherapy treatment

The news sent shares (NASDAQ:PSTI) down 15 percent Thursday, though they stabilized somewhat Friday, closing at $3.83, down 2 cents...In addition to the CLI and IC indications, the company has said it plans to move into Phase II testing of PLX cells in Buerger's disease and muscle injury

America Stem Cell Inc. (ASC), of San Antonio, received an Advanced Technology Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health...The issue was related to a share capital increase of €30 million (US$39 million

In other financings news...Valeant also said it intends, subject to market and other conditions, to raise about $500 million of unsecured debt for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 5, 2012.)

rights to FDA-approved product Gelclair for treating oral mucositis from the Helsinn Group, of Lugano, Switzerland...DARA plans to launch the topical gel product in the first quarter of 2013...RNL Bio, of Seoul, South Korea, said it signed a deal licensing its stem cell technology to Turkish firm RST Biomedikal Sanayi AS

In other news, BioLineRx said BL-7010, an oral candidate in celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, was found to be safe and well tolerated in preclinical studies presented at the Better Life for Coeliacs 2012 Conference in Helsinki, Finland...Due to the close relationship among Family B GPCRs, which have proven intractable to small-molecule chemistry, insights from the CRF structure will allow structural models to be generated for the entire family, Heptares said

Data showed that an absence of SIRPa signaling allowed mice to clear human leukemia stem cells, a subpopulation of tumor cells that are resistant to chemotherapy and are thought to be responsible for disease relapse

government will pay up to 50 percent of the cost of Voraxaze to hospitals in addition to the standard diagnosis-related group (DRG) reimbursement payment

Sebelius, it expects the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to approve funding of a number of its human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines in the coming months...Zalicus, formerly CombinatoRx, licensed Exalgo to Covidien in 2009 for $15 million upfront, plus development and regulatory milestones of up to $56 million

The funding will enable development of the Nanex platform for use in stem cell transplants, a procedure most often performed for leukemia or multiple myeloma patients...Orexo AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it expects to file a new drug application (NDA) with the FDA for OX219, its treatment for opioid dependence, in September, five months earlier than planned, following the completion of product stability tests recommended by the agency during the pre-NDA meeting

CRT said that CTx-0294886 could be used to treat other cancers, including a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with mutations in FLT3, a receptor tyrosine kinase involved in controlling the growth and development of several blood cancers, including AML...ReNeuron plc, of Guildford, UK, gave an update on progress of the PISCES clinical trial of its ReN001 stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients, and said the independent data safety monitoring board recommended the trial advance

In other news, Almirall and Quintiles Transnational Corp., of Durham, N.C., entered a long-term strategic partnership to promote Almirall's respiratory portfolio in the UK, strengthening the companies' existing relationship...In other news, Eisai published results from a pivotal Phase III study (Study 304) of Fycompa (perampanel), for partial-onset seizures, in subjects 12 and older showing that once-daily perampanel 8 mg or 12 mg improved seizure control, and that both doses were safe and well

related to commercialization of the obesity drug, including pharmacovigilance requirements...Cabozantinib is designed to inhibit MET, VEGFR2 and RET...EST on Aug. 2, to permit HGS stockholders who have not tendered their shares the opportunity to do so

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved an award of $20 million to StemCells Inc., of Newark, Calif., for preclinical development of HuCNS-SC (purified human neural stem cells) as a therapy for spinal cord injury...Approval was based on two Phase III studies that showed significant and sustained improvements in breathing, weight gain, and other markers of benefit in the disease compared to placebo

Horizon Discovery Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, reported that it signed an agreement, under its Centers of Excellence (CoE) program, with the National Institutes of Health Center for Regenerative Medicine that will enable the center to use the company's Genesis genome editing technology to create isogenic disease models in stem cells...Those models, with induced mutations and/or lineage markers, will allow researchers to study the effects of specific genes and mutations on stem cells as they

Biokine previously received FDA approval to conduct a Phase II study for stem cell mobilization in multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients using BKT140...In other news from Forest, shareholder Carl Icahn and the company are continuing their battle over the leadership and direction of the firm in advance of an Aug. 15 annual meeting

7 to all stockholders of record as of Aug. 16...Janssen, which holds rights to Dacogen in territories outside of North America, anticipates receiving a regulatory decision from the European Commission around the end of this quarter...Shares of Astex (NASDAQ:ASTX) gained 30 cents, or 13.5 percent, to close Friday at $2.52

BioTime Inc., of Alameda, Calif., signed an exclusive sublicense agreement and a supply agreement with Jade Therapeutics LLC, of Park City, Utah, to provide clinical-grade HyStem hydrogels and other technology for use by Jade in developing pharmaceutical products for ophthalmologic use...OPKO plans to commercialize a serum test based on four of the markers that provided a diagnostic sensitivity of 90 percent and a diagnostic specificity of 100 percent to distinguish NMO patients from those with