for the Brisbane, Australia-based company's Diversity Scanning Array (DSA) and Versatile Assembly on Stable Templates (VAST) technologies in a deal worth up to $240 million in milestones, plus other payments...Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Burnaby, British Columbia, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, said the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to XEN402 to treat pain associated with erythromelalgia, a rare autosomal dominant condition characterized by burning pain in the

A.P. Pharma Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., received a complete response letter from the FDA regarding the new drug application for APF530 for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting...In other news, SCT closed its previously announced private placement for gross proceeds of C$3.2 million (US$3.1 million

Another $13 million to $15 million in equipment, integration service and testing will be provided by Agila...Cardiome Pharma Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said Institutional Shareholder Services Inc...Proteo Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to Elafin for the prevention of inflammatory complications of transthoracic esophagectomy

Apricus Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, said it intends to cease financing its French subsidiaries, Finesco SAS, its French holding company, Scomedica SAS, its French sales company and NexMed Pharma SAS, its marketing company...In other news, law firm Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, of New York, said it is investigating claims on behalf of purchasers of Spectrum securities, after shares (NASDAQ:SPPI) fell as much as 38 percent on March 13 on news that the company slashed its revenue projections

Lallemand Pharma, of Lugano Switzerland, partnered with Cipla Ltd., of Mumbai, India, to market and distribute PMBL tablets in India, under the name Pulmigen, for prevention of chronic bronchopulmonary infections...The FDA previously granted orphan drug designation to Pluristem's PLX cells in Buerger's disease...ProBioGen AG, of Berlin, said another undisclosed global pharma company licensed rights to its GlymaxX ADCC-enhancement technology

ProBioGen AG, of Berlin, said another undisclosed global pharma company licensed rights to its GlymaxX ADCC-enhancement technology...Proteologics Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and Newcastle Innovation Ltd., the technology transfer company of the University of Newcastle, Australia, entered an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize therapeutics for respiratory and other diseases based on the target Midline-1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase...SOV Therapeutics Inc., of Morrisville, N.C., said the

At all doses tested, ALX-0061 was well tolerated and the safety profile compared favorably to data reported for other biological DMARDs...To date, almost 50 percent of planned patients have been enrolled in about 30 European centers...In both studies the JE vaccine was shown to be highly immunogenic in children/adolescents age 2 months to younger than 18 years with a safety profile comparable to pediatric vaccines licensed for other diseases

patents relating to Exalgo to sell Actavis' 32-mg product beginning May 15, 2014...Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to its investigational drug lenvatinib (E7080) for follicular, medullary, anaplastic and metastatic or locally advanced papillary thyroid cancer...16 to $2 per share but did not change previously reported non-GAAP results. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 22, 2008, and March 10, 2009

OSE Pharma SA, of Paris, said the FDA granted orphan drug status to its lead candidate, OSE 2101, to treat non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients expressing HLA-A2

Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to Apocept, a drug designed to bind to the CD95 ligand and block activation of the CD95 receptor, in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS

Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to Apocept, a drug designed to bind to the CD95 ligand and block activation of the CD95 receptor, in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS...Zealand Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it was notified that licensing partner Sanofi SA, of Paris, will delay development of a program combining recently approved Lyxumia (lixisenatide) with Sanofi's Lantus (insulin glargine), owing to a technical issue encountered during

The transaction is subject to approval by Covidien's board, and the separation is expected to be complete at the end of the second quarter of 2013...The FDA granted orphan drug designation to the product for retinitis pigmentosa

Cerulean Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said preclinical data showed that CRLX101 in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche AG) inhibited tumor growth and improved survival vs...Lee's will have an option to negotiate for commercial rights in China...Soligenix has also previously received orphan drug designation from the FDA for oral BDP for the prevention of death following a potentially lethal dose of total body irradiation during or after a radiation disaster

The Merck expansion grants the big pharma further access to Adimab's technology to discover and optimize fully human antibody candidates, including potentially bispecific antibody candidates, across all disease areas...TNI BioTech Inc., of New York, said it signed an agreement to acquire patent rights and FDA orphan drug designation to a late-stage drug, trademarked LDN, for the treatment of pediatric Crohn's disease

Under the agreement, Pepscan will use its CLIPS platform and other protein mimicry technologies to help discover new antibodies...to purchase up to 1 million shares, or about 1.06 percent of the company's outstanding stock, at a price of $161.25 per share, marking a 4.46 percent discount to the Dec. 27 closing price

PharmaIN Corp., of Bothell, Wash., and LAT Pharma LLC, of Chicago, said the FDA granted orphan designation for terlipressin for the treatment of ascites due to all etiologies except for cancer...Terlipressin is designed to reduce portal vein pressure and increase mean arterial pressure in cirrhotic patients with splanchnic vasodilation...Tranzyme Pharma Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., reported the successful completion of its chemistry-based drug discovery collaboration with New York-based

Galderma Pharma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, agreed to acquire Spirig Pharma AG, of Egerkingen, Switzerland

Earlier this year, the company inked a potential $33 million strategic alliance with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., of Osaka, Japan, to develop and commercialize at least three vaccines using the VLP technology. (See BioWorld Today, March 7, 2012...Shares of Somaxon (NASDAQ:SOMX) soared on the buyout news, gaining 80.3 percent, or $1.18, to close Tuesday at $2.65. (See BioWorld Today, March 19, 2010, July 16, 2010, Aug. 26, 2010, and June 9, 2011...Ltd., pursuant to the existing license

Preclinical treatment goals for the TNBC and IBC indications are two-pronged: as a tumor reduction agent in combination with other approved drugs in preoperative settings and as a drug to treat and control or eliminate cancer metastasis in TNBC and IBC patients...Distribution of Prothena ordinary shares in the demerger is conditioned upon, among other conditions to the demerger, a registration statement filed with the SEC, having been declared effective by the SEC and the affirmative vote of the