rights to Flutiform to SkyePharma after the FDA said further clinical trials were needed to file for regulatory approval in U.S. The drug is now partnered with Mundipharma International Ltd., which last fall reported new data from three Phase III studies showing that Flutiform improved lung function and effectively controlled symptoms across different asthma severities in adolescents and adults. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 23, 2010, and Sept. 28, 2011

It is designed to reduce hospitalizations associated with RSV, but its use is limited by cost...The termination is not expected to affect recently announced plans by the company to test UMK-121 in certain oncology indications...The company expects to file for approval in Australia later this year

IntelliCell BioSciences Inc., of New York, inked a technology licensing agreement with Stem Cells 21, of Thailand, a cellular treatment business, to advance adult autologous vascular cellular therapy in Thailand...The company is considering partnering opportunities to market Huntexil outside Europe, as well as financing through a capital raise...NeuroSearch said the FDA's requirement to demonstrate statistical significance on an additional endpoint has increased the risk associated with the program

stem cell transplant. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 13, 2007, and Feb. 10, 2009.) Vancocin still accounted for more than half of the company's 2011 sales, according to year-end financials...The Vancocin commotion could have an effect on other biotechs – especially Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc., which seemed to receive a glancing blow...analyst Thomas Wei suggested the market may have overreacted to the Vancocin news

In other news, AMT reported that shareholders have approved all the resolutions proposed for a corporate restructuring and financing transaction, which will result in the assets and certain liabilities being acquired by a newly formed private company, uniQure BV...Compugen expects to significantly increase the number of mAb product candidates developed

It's the first development candidate to emerge from the deal...The deal will give Amgen additional resources to advance its portfolio, and Amgen will benefit from the respiratory, inflammation and asthma development expertise of MedImmune Inc., AstraZeneca's biologics arm...The transaction is subject to approval of Theravance's stockholders at their annual meeting May 15

In other news, Addex reported top-line data showing that a Phase IIa trial testing dipraglurant, a small-molecule allosteric modulator, in Parkinson's disease patients suffering from debilitating levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) met its primary endpoint, with the drug exhibiting a good safety and tolerability profile...In other news, AstraZeneca said subanalysis data from its VOYAGER study suggested that achieving an LDL-C goal of less than 70 mg/dL or a greater than 50 percent reduction in LDL-C

The company will apply the technology in the development and commercialization of ICT-140, a multivalent, dendritic cell-based vaccine designed to target cancer stem cells and daughter cells in ovarian cancer by targeting multiple antigens, including EphA2, mesothelin, Her-2/neu, IL-13Rα2 and several other undisclosed antigens...The work focused on mesenchymal stem cells, and the results showed the ability to determine cells by gyclosylation profiles that predict tumorgenicity and predict

The news sent shares of Aastrom (NASDAQ:ASTM) up 38 cents, or 20.9 percent, to close Friday at $2.20, and Roth Capital Partners analyst Joseph Pantginis noted that the fundraising removes a "significant overhang" for the company...We view two key benefits from the financing," Pantginis wrote in a research note, citing the firm's ability to fund the ongoing Phase III REVIVE-CL trial, anticipated to cost about $30 million, and its "financial leverage for ongoing partnering discussions

The partnership, originally established in March 2003 and currently focused on the discovery of new therapeutics for glaucoma and other ophthalmic indications, now is set to continue through March 2013. (See BioWorld Today, April 16, 2003...Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it submitted a new drug application and a marketing authorization application seeking approval of lead compound lomitapide as an adjunct to a low-fat diet and other lipid-lowering therapies to reduce

In other news, Gentium said a Phase III trial evaluating defibrotide in preventing hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) in pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) showed that use of defibrotide led to a 40 percent reduction in the incidence of VOD 30 days after HSCT

The bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells secreting neurotrophic factors were transplanted into an animal model of Huntington's...subcohort, as compared to the overall efficacy of the trial...Both are membrane proteins related to the firm's soluble Fc proteins for autoimmune disease

Cellartis will collaborate with academic partners to generate human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from DILI- and non-DILI-sensitive individuals that can be characterized, expanded and banked to generate hepatocytes for the project. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 23, 2011

The project, REGENER-AR, is designed to bring the first stem cell therapy product for rheumatoid arthritis, Cx611 , through final research and clinical development...In other news, Zealand disclosed a $20 million milestone payment to be received from Sanofi following the successful completion of the global GetGoal Phase III program for glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist lixisenatide in Type II diabetes

The project, REGENER-AR, is designed to bring the first stem cell therapy product for rheumatoid arthritis, Cx611 , through final research and clinical development...Vytacera plans to pursue approval under the animal rule

And therein lies another note of encouragement to private biotechs: Even a partnership that doesn't end in acquisition can still fund a small company all the way to an IPO...But ChemoCentryx has received $245.7 million from GSK thus far, including up-front and milestone payments, equity investments, research funding and option exercise fees, and the fact that GSK took over the costs of Traficet-EN and CCX354 after proof of concept allowed ChemoCentryx to focus on its own molecules. (See BioWorld

Last year, it put all other R&D programs on hold and cut 72 of 82 employees to conserve cash...Mesoblast Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said the FDA cleared the firm to start a Phase II trial of its adult stem cells in Type II diabetes

TissueGEN aims to produce an in vitro, three-dimensional human disease tissue platform to provide therapeutics developers with cost-effective validation of potential regenerative medicine strategies...Last year, it put all other R&D programs on hold and cut 72 of 82 employees to conserve cash. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 18, 2011...Soligenix Inc., of Princeton, N.J., reported preclinical results showing its vaccine thermostabilization technology is able to produce stable vaccine formulations using

Acorda plans to begin proof-of-concept clinical trials of Ampyra in people with chronic stroke later this year. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 25, 2010, and May 10, 2011...Apricus plans to file for approval of NitroMist in several territories, including Europe. (See BioWorld Today, April 24, 2006...That investment, which is expected to accelerate preclinical and clinical development timelines of future product candidates, includes capital expenditures and labor costs, as well as preclinical studies for a