In other news, Evotec said it will acquire the zebrafish screening operations of Summit Corp...Perindopril, used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure, the latest generation of a class of medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors...UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said it is seeking to acquire shares of Monheim, Germany-based Schwarz Pharma AG held by minority shareholders - representing about 0.4 percent of stock capital - through a squeeze-out

Nycomed A/S, of Zurich, Switzerland, said it submitted a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency for Daxas (roflumilast), a once-daily oral treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with chronic bronchitis...UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said it is seeking to acquire shares of Monheim, Germany-based Schwarz Pharma AG held by minority shareholders - representing about 0.4 percent of stock capital - through a squeeze-out procedure that

The alliance will continue to assess other renin inhibitors currently in the drug discovery phase...In other news, Actelion said the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for the pediatric formulation of bosentan (Tracleer) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH...Santaris Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it completed delivery of six cancer target drug candidates to collaboration partner Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., as part of

Novo Nordisk said it expects to receive final marketing authorization from the European Commission in about two months, with an expected European launch this summer...To that end, the firm is decreasing its Georgia work force by about 30 employees, effective immediately, which is expected, along with other efficiencies, to result in an $8 million decrease in costs this year and an annualized reduction in costs of $10 million

Cerulean Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said that Oliver S. Fetzer has been named president and CEO...Cordex Pharma Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., has agreed to collaborate with BG Medicine Inc., of Waltham, Mass., in its Phase II safety trial with CDP-1050 in heart failure patients...Subject to the execution of definitive agreements and Ondine shareholder approval, the proposed transaction would provide Ondine with continued economic benefits and cash flows to be used for the development of expanded

Almirall considered the data good enough to add Spain to the licensing submission that GW Pharma is about to make to the UK regulator...Nitec Pharma AG , of Reinach, Switzerland, granted an exclusive license to Cambridge, UK-based Mundipharma International Corp

Aphios Corp., of Woburn, Mass., said it is in a contract with the National Cancer Institute to develop Tdp-1 inhibitors either as a primary therapy or in combination with camptothecins for colon, breast, ovarian, leukemia and other cancers...The two lead molecules, IQP-0568 and IQP-0589 also have been shown to be active non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV replication, but inactive against a panel of other RNA and DNA viruses, suggesting specificity for antiviral activity against viruses that encode a

plummeted 20 percent on news that the FDA had refused to accept its new drug application for Fampridine-SR, a drug designed specifically to improve walking ability in multiple sclerosis patients...Other recent RTFs include Vancouver, British Columbia-based Cardiome Pharma Corp.'s Kynapid (vernakalant...The FDA declined to accept the NDA filed in 2006 by partner Astellas Pharma US, citing inconsistencies and omissions in the database, and Astellas resubmitted the application by the end of that year

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, said it was terminating its $16 per share offer for CV Therapeutics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., and will not propose directors for CVT's board or make any other proposals for the firm...BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, received €6.4 million (US$8.3 million) from OSEO, the French state innovation agency, to help the development of its therapeutic entities for the treatment of invasive cancers...Ipsen SA, of Paris, and Galderma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, said Azzalure

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Astellas U.S. Holding Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., will nominate two directors for election to the board of directors of CV Therapeutics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., and submit a stockholder proposal to remove the remaining four directors at the company's 2009 annual meeting...BioAlliance Pharma, of Paris, reported a 134 percent jump in revenues to €8.2 million in 2008 from €3.5 million the year before, but that did not prevent its net

IDM Pharma Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said the European Commission granted a centralized marketing authorization application for Mepact (mifamurtide) in patients with nonmetastatic, resectable osteosarcoma...regulators to address issues raised in the 2007 nonapprovable letter. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 28, 2007

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, carried out its threats of hostility and launched a $16-per-share cash tender offer for all outstanding common shares of Palo Alto, Calif.-based CV Therapeutics Inc...Research to date suggested that by targeting ICAM-1, the drug directly inhibited tumor cell growth by inducting cell death through direct cell cytotoxicity...Novagali Pharma SA, of Evry, France, reported in vivo toxicology results showing that Nova21027, its BAK (benzalkonium chloride)-free latanoprost

Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said the European Commission granted marketing authorization for Nplate (romiplostim) for the treatment of splenectomized adult chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura patients who are refractory to other treatments...The company said it expects to be in a position to assess the viability of pursuing other options in the second quarter

NBI has the put option to require deCode to repurchase the securities following the sale of other deCode assets, or if not previously repurchased on Dec. 31...Premacure intends to initiate a Phase II trial during the second quarter...Scolr Pharma Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said the FDA requested additional information in its review of the company's abbreviated new drug application for the decongestant pseudoephedrine

Antares Pharma Inc., of Ewing, N.J., received a milestone payment of $450,000 from BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lincolnshire, Ill., related to an agreement with Azur Pharma, of Dublin, Ireland, for the marketing of Elestrin (estradiol gel) to treat moderate to severe hot flashes in menopausal women in the U.S. BioSante received $3.325 million on signing with Azur, of which about $1.5 million was purchased inventory

Antisoma plans to seek a partner to commercialize the product in the U.S., and said talks are under way and a partner should be selected in early 2009...The European Medicines Agency has unveiled plans for an additional milestone in the phased approach to the implementation of electronic-only submissions and the electronic common technical document in support of marketing-authorization applications for medicines via its centralized procedure

On top of that, Auxilium would be entitled to tiered, double-digit royalties on product sales in the 27 member European Union and 19 other European and Eurasion countries...He declined to offer a specific timeline, but analyst Joseph Schwartz, of Leerink Swann, is projecting that Auxilium will reach profitability in 2010, "without any additional cash infusions required, even without including commercial milestones," he wrote in a research note...And the pharma giant's "exceptional European commercial

The new company, LEO Pharma China, will market LEO Pharma's portfolio of drugs for the treatment of psoriasis and other dermatological products...In other news, Medivir said Lars Adlersson will leave his position as CEO effective Jan. 31...as its financial advisor to provide the company with independent advice on strategic transactions, tactical acquisitions and other financial matters for the period 2009 to 2011

The blood test is designed to identify patterns of antibodies generated by the immune system in response to early stage disease, and studies have shown that the presence and amplification of those antibodies predicts lung cancer at an accuracy rate greater than that of other known methods...The new company, LEO Pharma China, will market LEO Pharma's portfolio of drugs for the treatment of psoriasis and other dermatological products...Palatin Technologies Inc., of Cranbury, N.J., said it has extended