Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., told licensor Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, that the planned Phase I trial of the investigational anti-anxiety drug candidate IW-2143 (BNC210) has begun in the U.S. The trial is designed to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics of IW-2143 in healthy volunteers, using single and multi-dose administration. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 6, 2012.)

• Coronado Biosciences Inc., of Burlington, Mass., entered an agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to evaluate TSO (Trichuris suis ova or CNDO-201) for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in a Phase II trial. The multi-center study will be conducted by the NIAID-funded Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence. TSO consists of the microscopic eggs of the porcine whipworm.

• OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., began dosing in a Phase I trial with OMP-52M51 in patients with hematologic cancers. OMP-52M51 is OncoMed's fifth product candidate to enter clinical development, a proprietary monoclonal antibody that targets the Notch1 receptor. Enrollment of the first patient in the Anti-Notch1 Phase I trial has triggered a $4 million milestone payment from the company's strategic collaborator GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London.(See BioWorld Today, Dec. 11, 2007.)