Affitech A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said its Russian partner, IBC Generium, submitted a clinical trial application to the Russian Health Authority to begin a Phase Il trial with Affitech's lead monoclonal antibody candidate AT001/r84...Vibativ was approved in Europe last year for the treatment of adults with nosocomial pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, known or suspected to be caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) when other alternatives aren't suitable

Vibativ was approved in Europe last year for the treatment of adults with nosocomial pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, known or suspected to be caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) when other alternatives aren't suitable...LEO Pharma A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, entered a multimillion dollar collaboration with Virobay Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., to develop a first-in-class oral compound for psoriasis...Under the agreement, the NCI and Micromet will

Funds will be used to support the firm's droxidopa programs, including regulatory, commercialization and marketing activity for Northera, to fund the study of CH-4051 in rheumatoid arthritis, to fund the development of droxidopa for other indications and to support work on other product candidates...Funds are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, which might include R&D expenses, clinical trial expenditures, manufacture and supply of drug substance and drug products, acquisitions of

BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, said it received a €1 million (US$1.29 million) milestone payment, as provided in the commercialization agreement signed with partner Therabel Group for Loramyc in Europe...Dyax will continue to receive a share of revenues from its phage display technology, including revenues derived from products commercialized by Dyax licensees...The company plans to begin a Phase II trial of HT-100 in DMD patients this year

In other news, AstraZeneca and Hutchison MediPharma Ltd. (HMP), of London, entered a global licensing, co-development and commercialization agreement for Volitinib (HMPL-504), a highly selective inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase to treat of cancer, currently in preclinical studies...Covis Pharma Sarl, of Zug, Switzerland, agreed with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, to acquire commercial rights to Fortaz (ceftazidime), Zinacef (cefuroxime), Lanoxin (digoxin), Parnate (tranylcypromine

Antares Pharma Inc., of Ewing, N.J., has licensed to Pfizer Inc.'s Consumer Healthcare Business Unit one of its drug delivery technologies to develop an undisclosed product on an exclusive basis for North America...Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, entered a research collaboration with an undisclosed big pharma partner to investigate a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate aimed at a target clinically validated and expressed in solid tumors

The goal is then to license promising candidates to other pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development and commercialization...In other news, GSK and Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md., said they started dosing in BLISS-SC, a new Phase III trial of Benlysta (belimumab) administered subcutaneously once weekly to autoantibody-positive adults with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE

To-BBB Technologies BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, received a grant of more than €600,000 (US$780,848) through an international innovation program of the Dutch government agency Agentschap NL to support a brain drug delivery partnership with an undisclosed major pharma company...To-BBB recently initiated a clinical trial with 2B3-101 for primary and metastatic brain tumors

Boehringer Ingelheim will produce ficlatuzumab for clinical trials at its biopharmaceutical site in Fremont, Calif., with AVEO retaining all rights to the compound's development and commercialization...In other news, Compugen said company President and CEO Anat Cohen-Dayag presented data from its antibody target discovery platform at the 7th Annual European Antibody Congress in Geneva...In clinical trials, Eurartesim performed better, with a cure rate above 95 percent, and provided longer protection

Boehringer Ingelheim will produce ficlatuzumab for clinical trials at its biopharmaceutical site in Fremont, Calif., with AVEO retaining all rights to the compound's development and commercialization...The news, which sent its shares (NASDAQ:TSPT) soaring 21.7 percent, or $1.51, to close Thursday at $8.48, came less than two weeks after Transcept won FDA approval for Intermezzo, a sublingual version of zolpidem intended specifically for middle-of-the-night waking followed by difficulty returning to

Nutra Pharma Corp., of Coral Springs, Fla., said a paper to be published in Neuropharmacology detailed the mechanism of alpha-cobratoxin, a component of cobra venom, for use in treating pain...Q Chip Ltd., of Cardiff, Wales, said it signed a deal with an undisclosed specialty pharma firm to develop a sustained-release depot of an undisclosed therapeutic peptide...In clinical trials, Eurartesim performed better, with a cure rate above 95 percent, and provided longer protection from new malaria

Alexion expects to begin treating patients with aHUS in major European countries during the first half of 2012...Horizon Pharma Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., said the FDA accepted the filing and will review its new drug application for Lodotra, a modified delayed-release formulation of low-dose prednisone, to treat rheumatoid arthritis in adults

In other news, Affitech said it received a €2 million (US$2.7 million) license fee because Russian collaborator IBC Generium exercised its option to license Affitech's AT008 anti-CCR4 antibody program...Bionor Pharma ASA, of Oslo, Norway, presented data relating to its universal influenza candidate, Vacc-Flu, at the Influenza Congress USA in Arlington, Va

The company plans to advance MDCO-216 back into clinical trials next year while continuing to improve its manufacturing efficiency so it can make sufficient material for clinical development. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 24, 2009

Under the agreement, Aslan will receive exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the BMS drug in Australia, China, Korea, Taiwan and other selected Asian countries while BMS retains exclusive rights in the rest of the world...Lupuzor has also made headway in Japan while under Cephalon's stewardship, with the Japanese regulator agreeing to the initiation of clinical trials in the country

Atlab Pharma SAS, of Nantes, France, and BZL Biologics LLC, of New York, entered a sublicense agreement to develop (177)Lu-J591 as a prostate cancer treatment...Circadian Technologies Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said the FDA approved the investigational new drug application filed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd., to initiate clinical trials of VGX-100, a human antibody that acts against the human VEGF-C protein

Atlab Pharma SAS, of Nantes, France, and BZL Biologics LLC, of New York, entered a sublicense agreement to develop (177)Lu-J591 as a prostate cancer treatment...In addition to advancing a pipeline, Repligen runs a bioprocessing business through which it supplies technologies and ingredients used to manufacture biologics

Affitech A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it received a €2.5 million (US$3.4 million) milestone payment related to the delivery of the preclinical package for Affitech's anti-VEGF antibody AT001/r84 to its Russian collaborator, IBC Generium, which will use the package to file a clinical trial application in Russia...In other news, Elan and Biogen said the FDA extended by three months the initial PDUFA date for its review of the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Tysabri

Vontz said he could not discuss details of the company's Series A, other than to say that it happened in 2008 and was led by Prospect Venture Partners...In other financing news...Net proceeds will be used for clinical trials activities related to completion of enrollment and ongoing patient dosing for the trial testing davunetide in progressive supranuclear palsy, as well as for general corporate purposes and working capital