7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, closed its €19 million (US$23 million) Series C round, led by LD Pensions in collaboration with Scottish Widows Investment Partnership...Money will be used to support operations into 2008, including clinical development through Phase IIa proof-of-concept trials of the company's lead obesity drugs, TM30338 and TM30339, and the initiation of development of further drug candidates from in-house discovery efforts...Net proceeds will be used to support product

Esprit Pharma Inc., of East Brunswick, N.J., secured a $50 million credit facility from Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund, a fund managed by New York-based Fortress Investment Group...Money will be used to fund clinical and preclinical development of its existing product candidates, as well as manufacturing of clinical-grade materials, and for other research and development initiatives

After one year, telbivudine displayed significantly greater antiviral and clinical efficacy compared with lamivudine, significantly reducing virus levels by 6.22 log10, or more than 1 million-fold, compared with 5.4 log10 for lamivudine (p<0.001...arm of partner Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland (Idenix’s majority owner), submitted the new drug application to the FDA for telbivudine against HBV...The normative trial is part of the firm's ongoing clinical program to develop Zemiva (iodofiltic

A big pharma collaborator might be sought for a drug marketed to primary-care physicians, while CombinatoRx could sell certain niche products on its own, Forrestor said...The burn rate this year is estimated at $32 million to $37 million, "increasing a little bit next year, as we go into later-stage clinical studies," Forrester said...There were no agent fees, and the placement was in addition to about 5.4 million shares for C$5.8 million placed on March 22, increasing the gross proceeds of the

Staff Writer Following promising Phase II results with its short-acting anesthetic drug, Aquavan injection, MGI Pharma Inc...The endpoints for both trials include sedation and treatment success, patient satisfaction, investigator satisfaction, and measures of sedation adequacy, recovery, clinical benefit and safety...Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., of Wellesley, Mass., disclosed positive top-line interim data from the 12-week, randomized, controlled clinical study of Actilon (CPG 10101) in

7TM Pharma A/S, of Hørsholm, Denmark, reported positive Phase I/II results showing that TM30338 met both the primary and secondary objectives, demonstrating that the drug candidate is safe and well tolerated in humans...The compound is the first of a new class of drugs that induces apoptosis and inhibits angiogenesis, and its clinical trials are evaluating its use in a range of conditions such as CML, myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia...The companies are working to address the

To date, the company has brought in €73 million in private financing, and said the recent round will help pursue clinical development with its lead compound, BXL628...Santaris Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed a €40 million (US$48.3 million) Series B investment round to fund continued development of its portfolio of drug candidates based on LNA, including SPC 2996, an RNA antagonist to Bcl-2 in a Phase I/II trial in chronic lymphocytic leukemia...Martien van Osch, of ABM AMRO, and Holger

The primary clinical endpoint is an increase in the distance walked in six minutes...MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, said the March edition of The European Journal of Neurosurgery, Acta Neurochirurgica, published 56-month follow-up data showing that Gliadel Wafer provided a durable long-term survival benefit for patients with high-grade malignant glioma...Santarus Inc., of San Diego, said clinical results indicated Zegerid (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) powder for oral suspension provided physicians

Clinical testing with NPI-2358 will begin in solid tumors...We have two lead clinical compounds, backup compounds and others in the pipeline that could be developed if we so desire...Antares Pharma Inc., of Exton, Pa., completed its previously announced financing of nearly $11 million through a private placement of units consisting of 8.8 million shares of stock priced at $1.25 each, plus warrants to purchase 6.6 million shares at an exercise price of $1.50 per share

Its lead candidate, cethromycin, is a ketolide antibiotic in late-stage clinical development for respiratory tract infections...The clinical cure rate at the test-of-cure visit is the primary endpoint of the trial, which is powered to demonstrate non-inferiority at the 95 percent confidence interval...In separate news, Cytomics appointed John Thebault to the position of director of clinical research

Antares Pharma Inc., of Exton, Pa., said Phase II data of Anturol, a gel-based transdermal treatment for overactive bladder, showed the therapy was well tolerated at all doses with a reduced adverse event profile in comparison to those reported in both oral and adhesive patch formulations...DiObex Inc., of San Francisco, began treating patients with Type II diabetes in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial...The company plans to start separate clinical efficacy studies in rheumatoid

Gastrotech Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, began a Phase II study of GTP-200 in cancer cachexia patients...The trial follows a Phase I/II study that showed the treatment to be safe and effective on several endpoints, with specific findings to be unveiled the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting...NeoPharm Inc., of Waukegan, Ill., said a proposed clinical trial of LEP-ETU (Liposomal Paclitaxel Easy to Use) could begin next quarter, at the earliest, pending resolution of an issue

Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., of London, selected a hepatitis C clinical candidate and moved it into full preclinical development...In November, Neurobiological Technologies sold the product's exclusive worldwide rights for $48 million to Celtic Pharma, and it provides contractual services surrounding the development. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 21, 2005

According to the company's prospectus, Theravance intends to spend the proceeds on general corporate purposes, which might include funding clinical and preclinical development candidates, drug research activities, manufacturing of drug supplies, capital expenditures and working capital...Proceeds will be used for the clinical development of its three lead preclinical candidates, including its lead drug Alchemix, a multi-target inhibitor that overcomes chemotherapeutic drug resistance by binding to

The company acquired worldwide rights to XY 2405 from Paris-based Fournier Pharma last year...Hawaii Biotech Inc., of Honolulu, raised $7.8 million in its Series C financing, with proceeds expected to go toward its anti-inflammatory small-molecule programs, including the preclinical and early clinical development of Cardax, a potential treatment for cardiovascular inflammatory disease...private equity fund, WFD Ventures LLC, with undisclosed proceeds expected to support its clinical development

A third clinical-stage product, pleconaril, aimed at treating the common cold and asthma exacerbations is no longer considered part of ViroPharma's pipeline...Gastrotech Completes €2.3M Round Danish firm Gastrotech Pharma A/S raised €2.3 million (US$2.7 million) in a private equity financing...Its clinical programs include GTP-010 for irritable bowel syndrome and GTP-200 for the treatment of cachexia and other catabolic syndromes

is bringing in $18 million through a public offering to support clinical development...But the company has yet to disclose a timeline for the clinical development of its avian flu product, which so far had been tested only in preclinical models, and from there, questions of the product's efficacy and production efficiency will come into play...Raphael Wisniewski, of Edmond de Rothschild, joined the company's board.

Staff Writer With its three lead products expected to be in clinical trials next year, Surface Logix Inc...Scolr Pharma Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., filed a shelf registration statement to sell up to $40 million in common stock and/or common stock purchase warrants...Kathy LaPorte, managing director of New Leaf Venture Partners, joined the company's board.

According to its prospectus, net proceeds of about $81.1 million will go toward clinical trials, research and development, general corporate purposes, capital expenditures, acquisitions of new technologies and working capital...Certain members of Endo's management have an ownership interest in Endo Pharma, and certain executive stockholders and directors of Endo also will receive proceeds through the transaction...Over the last few years, Kelso & Co., looking for liquidity, has reduced Endo Pharma's