and Borealis Biosciences Inc. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 16, 2000, p. 1.) •Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said it has begun enrollment of the first HIV-infected participants in a Phase I/II safety study of PRO 2000 Gel, a candidate vaginal microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of HIV infection and other STDs...The study was designed to investigate safety and efficacy at various dosages. •Syn X Pharma Inc., of Toronto, said it closed a $5.8 million private

The study, published in the August 4, 2000, edition of Cell, used Ariad's Regulated Accumulation of Proteins for Immediate Delivery (RAPID) technology to demonstrate that proteins can be transported within cells in large groups called "megavesicles." • Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, said it entered into an exclusive development and supply agreement with Diomed Inc., of Andover, Mass., for the delivery of lasers used in Axcan's photosensitizing cancer treatment Photofrin

licensed similar rights to test for mutations in the p53 gene, believed to be mutated in half to three-quarters of all cancers

The debentures were sold at an issue price of $551.26 per $1,000 principal amount at maturity. • BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, agreed to pay $3.8 million to purchase 396,274 common shares of CliniChem Development Inc...In separate news, Incyte said it entered a collaboration with Elitra Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, which acquired a license to use Incyte's PathoSeq microbial sequence database as a platform for functional genomics programs

Launch date is targeted early next year. • Beckman Coulter Inc., of Fullerton, Calif., said it introduced custom reagents that have the potential to speed the search for vaccines to cancer and other immune diseases by virtue of their ability to rapidly measure cellular immune response...Further Millennium stock purchases and other payments could bring the deal's total value to $450 million

Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, said its Irish subsidiary agreed to a sublicense agreement in which Grupo Ferrer Internacional S.A., of Barcelona, Spain, will market Photofrin in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Central and South America...The IMP said it will direct the second module toward the development of refinery catalysts and other materials. • Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, Calif., said it recently acquired worldwide rights to gallium maltolate, an orally

The stock is expected to be distributed Aug. 15. • DepoMed Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., reported positive results from a second Phase I trial comparing Metformin GR, an extended-release form of the diabetes drug metformin, with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s currently marketed immediate-release formulation, Glucophage. • Genomics Collaborative Inc. (GCI), of Cambridge, Mass., will conduct DNA analysis of tissue samples acquired through Riviera Beach, Fla.-based AmeriPath Inc.'s network of

According to the company, this event marks the first time a centrally produced autologous cancer vaccine for melanoma has been made commercially available anywhere. • Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, said Photofrin has been approved in Sweden for the palliative treatment of obstructive esophageal cancer, as well as for the palliative treatment of obstructing endobronchial non-small-cell lung cancer...Nortran will continue to trade on the Canadian Venture Exchange under the symbol

The two J&J research units also gain a license to make and use nucleic acid arrays for gene expression monitoring experiments as part of internal research efforts. • AltaRex Corp., of Waltham, Mass., and Medison Pharma, of Petach Tikva, Israel, are establishing a 50-50 joint venture to commercialize AltaRex's AIT (anti-idiotype induction) cancer therapies in Israel and the Middle East...The move brings the tally to C$21.5 million. • V.I. Technologies, of Watertown, Mass., is presenting new data

The plan identifies the tuberculosis crisis as a global health priority and encourages an international collaborative effort to develop a vaccine. • Vical Inc., of San Diego, granted Aventis Pharma, the pharmaceutical company of Frankfurt, Germany-based Aventis SA, the rights to use its naked DNA gene transfer technology to deliver a growth factor gene for which Aventis Pharma holds rights

intends to broaden the application of its proprietary technology to include the oral delivery of peptide and difficult small organic molecule drugs, the company said. • SkyePharma PLC, of London, granted the exclusive Canadian marketing and distribution rights for DepoCyt to Paladin Labs Inc., of Montreal

Arrow is a biopharmaceutical company using a unique genome-based approach to antimicrobial drug discovery. • BioVector Therapeutics SA, of Toulouse, France, reported positive results for a second Phase I study for a novel nasally administered influenza vaccine being developed in cooperation with BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec...The news was reported in the July 6 issue of Nature. • Labopharm Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said it reached agreements in principle to develop new formulations of

The company's marketing partner, Schwartz Pharma plc, is scheduled to launch the product in the UK later this year...The company is aiming to raise between $72 million and $84 million with the offering of 12 million shares. • Genset SA, of Paris, has completed the private placement of convertible bonds launched on June 7 (see BioWorld International, June 14, 2000, p. 6...Transghne plans to take therapies based on this vector into clinical development, with a particular emphasis on the treatment of

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. • AltaRex Corp., of Waltham, Mass., signed an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture with Genesis Pharma SA, of Athens, Greece, to commercialize OvaRex to treat ovarian cancer and other anti-idiotype induction therapy (AIT) cancer therapeutics in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Balkans

Study results are expected to be available before the end of this year. • BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, closed the transaction to sell to Baxter International Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., all of its shares of North American Vaccine Inc., of Columbia, Md

Thomas was previously president and CEO of Vancouver-based TerraGen Discovery Inc., and from 1993 to 1998 was vice president, therapeutic business planning and development, at BioChem Pharma Inc...Tan will continue as executive director, focusing on extending links with academic and industrial partners, and will be involved in running other companies. • MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, licensed its Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL) technology to Eos Biotechnology Inc., of South San

The company also said it plans to complete the analysis of two to three protein domain families by the end of the year. • BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said it signed a development and license agreement with Cytovax Biotechnologies Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, initially to further develop a vaccine to prevent infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Geron has rights to use the resulting discoveries to develop small-molecule drug, protein therapeutic, cell and gene therapy products, and prenatal diagnostics...The companies may license some of the resulting intellectual property to third parties to develop other products. • Celgene Corp. , of Warren, N.J., said its exclusive worldwide license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, for the development and marketing of Celgene's chirally pure version of Ritalin has become

Ltd., of Underdale, Australia, to include all of Central America, South America and Mexico, as well as South Africa and some additional territories in Southeast Asia and the Middle East...The company will use the money to advance development of software to improve high-throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry