Elite Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Northvale, N.J., acquired the currently approved abbreviated new drug application for naltrexone hydrochloride 50-mg tablets from Mikah Pharma LLC, of Plainville, N.Y. Elite, which anticipates manufacturing of the product to get under way early next year, is entitled to sell the drug in the U.S...Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., and Cardiome Pharma Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said intravenous formulation of Brinavess (vernakalant) has been granted

Hard times for biotechnology and most other industries in 2009 failed to bring about the widely predicted feeding frenzy, with deep pharma pockets using their upper hand to snatch all the desperate small firms that had promising technology and products, though merger and acquisition activity continued apace

EUSA Pharma Inc., of Oxford, UK, licensed Japanese development and commercialization rights for its cancer drug Erwinase (L-asparaginase) to Tokyo-based Ohara Pharmaceutical Co...In other news, OctoPlus signed a pharmaceutical development and manufacturing contract with The Medicines Co., of Parsippany, N.J. The undisclosed contract value will make a material contribution to OctoPlus' annual revenues, said the firm, which will perform process development and clinical manufacturing for The Medicines

7TM Pharma A/S, of Horsholm, Denmark, reported preclinical position emission tomography data in nonhuman primates showing that TM38837 is peripherally restricted, and a direct comparison between TM38837 and rimonabant, a brain penetrant CB1 receptor antagonist, exhibited a clear difference between their propensities to cross the blood-brain barrier in favor of TM38837...MRC Technology, of London, entered into an agreement with Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, a wholly owned member of the

EUSA Pharma Inc., of Oxford, UK, licensed Japanese development and commercialization rights for its cancer drug Erwinase (L-asparaginase) to Tokyo-based Ohara Pharmaceutical Co...Urigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, said the FDA denied the firm's request for an end-of-Phase II meeting at this time, but the agency has "signaled its willingness" to meet with the company as it moves forward with URG101 in painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis

OctoPlus will develop, up to in vivo feasibility, a controlled-release formulation of an undisclosed compound using its proprietary drug delivery technology PolyActive...Ltd., of Taiwan, to commercialize Convivia, Raptor's proprietary oral formulation of 4-methylpyrazole, in Taiwan...Convivia is designed to reduce systemic acetaldehyde exposure and related symptoms in liver enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, or ethanol intolerance, following alcohol consumption

Santaris Pharma A/S, of Hoersholm, Denmark, and miRagen Therapeutics Inc., of Boulder, Colo., formed an alliance to develop microRNA-targeted medicines to treat cardiovascular disease

Exelixis Inc., of South San Francisco, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., said the former has regained full rights to develop XL184, a small-molecule MET inhibitor, after the firms were "not able to align on the scope, breadth and pace of the ongoing clinical development" of the candidate...Mylotarg was granted accelerated approved in May 2000 to treat patients 60 years and older with recurrent AML who were not considered candidates for other chemotherapy

16 to review the new drug application for lorcaserin...In other financing news...Action Pharma AS, of Holte, Denmark ,has completed an internal financing round of €5 million (US $6.25 million), which will be used to advance the company's ongoing Phase IIa studies, and the initiation of a Phase IIb study, for AP214

BioAlliance Pharma SA, of Paris, has presented efficacy, safety and biodistribution results on its new biotherapy AMEP for advanced and metastatic melanoma...Five Prime Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, received $1 million in funding from Fast Forward LLC, a subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to develop a preclinical MS drug that targets the innate immune system...In separate news, the firm received $4.3 million in proceeds from the liquidation of one of the auction rate

Neither the rHuPH20 bulk enzyme nor any other products containing the enzyme are believed to be affected...ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd., of Los Angeles, and its partner Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies said they have identified several peptides that can generate CD-133-specific T cells and have extended their research agreement to pursue additional studies to support an investigational new drug application filing and research on other cancer stem cell targets, such as numb and notch

Timing of the launch will be influenced by the outcome of the appeal filed by Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma Products LP against Par Pharmaceutical Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., relating to the reference product in Cipher's NDA...Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered a multiyear drug discovery alliance with South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. (now part of Roche AG) to discover small-molecule therapeutics...Other tests showed that the stem cell-derived corneal tissue refracts light

Clavis Pharma ASA, of Oslo, Norway, entered a license agreement to provide Ventana Medical Systems Inc., of Tucson, Ariz., exclusive access to its monoclonal antibody targeting human nucleoside transporter 1 and to the hybridoma cell line that produces the antibody

The combined company, which will be named Pacific Orient BioPharma Group, intends to be an innovative high-tech enterprise engaging in branded generic drug development, market promotion and distribution in China and other emerging markets...EyeGate Pharma Inc., of Waltham, Mass., said that it has established a research collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, to evaluate the delivery of several GSK therapies to the anterior and posterior tissues of the eye using the EyeGate II delivery

Antares Pharma Inc., of Ewing, N.J., and Uman Pharma, of Montreal, Quebec, said they formed a strategic alliance to develop and commercialize Antares' Vibex MTX, a pressure-assisted injection device containing methotrexate under investigation to treat rheumatoid arthritis and related autoimmune conditions...The companies plan to work together to commercialize Vibex MTX in other territories

The option period will last up to six months at which time the pharma may exercise its option to enter into a non-exclusive license...Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, entered a finder's agreement with its licensee for crofelemer, Luye Pharma Group Ltd. (formerly Asiapharm), of China

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, extended its all-cash $52-per-share tender offer for OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Melville, N.Y., from April 23 to May 17...Presidio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, and Numerate Inc., of San Bruno, Calif., concluded their two-year collaboration to discover compounds targeting hepatitis C virus, and Presidio said it has opted not to pursue further development of the compounds "for internal reasons...Urigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, filed a request

VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, is looking to merge with diagnostics firm DiaDexus Inc., also of South San Francisco

PregLem, of Geneva, and HRA Pharma, of Paris, signed an agreement giving PregLem rights to develop and commercialize ulipristal acetate for benign gynecological disorders in North America...According to the companies, the partnership will create a beginning-to-end solution for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to more rationally design and tailor their drugs to specific patient populations based on the unique genetic variations that define a given disease