• Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, amended its January 2004 agreement with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. to grant an exclusive license to develop amyloid-derived diffusible ligand (ADDL) directed against diagnostic products. Under the terms of the original deal, Merck obtained an exclusive license to research and develop monoclonal antibody products, an option to develop vaccine products and the nonexclusive rights to develop diagnostic products. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 14, 2004.)

• Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, entered a license and supply agreement with CytoPharm Inc., of Taipei, Taiwan, under which CytoPharm and its subsidiary will conduct all clinical trials, and seek to obtain regulatory approvals in both China and Taiwan to launch ABI's low-dose oral interferon in the territory for influenza and hepatitis B indications. CytoPharm has entered discussions with regulatory agencies to conduct trials, expected to commence in 2007.

• Anesiva Inc., of South San Francisco, filed a new drug application for Zingo to treat the pain associated with venous access procedures in children. The company expects to begin a follow-on trial in adults in early 2007. Zingo is a needle-free system that delivers lidocaine powder into the epidermis of the skin and provides analgesia in one to three minutes after administration.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, completed the acquisition of SBL Vaccin AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, paying €39.4 million (US$50.5 million) in cash. The deal was disclosed earlier this month.

• Mayne Pharma Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, agreed to acquire the remaining worldwide rights to Nipent (pentostatin for injection) for a total of $8 million to Dublin, Calif.-based SuperGen Inc. Under the terms, SuperGen will receive about $3.75 million up front, with $1.25 million to be paid upon certain events and the remaining $3 million over a five-year period on the anniversary of the closing date. Nipent is approved for hairy-cell leukemia. Mayne gained North American rights to the drug from SuperGen in August for $34 million. (See BioWorld Today, June 23, 2006.)

• Neose Technologies Inc., of Horsham, Pa., received an undisclosed milestone payment from Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based Novo Nordisk A/S under the companies' November 2003 license agreement allowing Novo to use Neose's GlycoPEGylation technology to develop a next-generation version of Factor VIIa. Neose also is working with Novo to develop next-generation versions of Factors VIII and IX. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 19, 2003.)

• Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Waltham, Mass., said the FDA accepted the company's complete response to the Factive (gemifloxacin mesylate) tablets approvable letter for the five-day treatment of community-acquired pneumonia of mild to moderate severity. The letter, dated Sept. 21, 2006, requested clarification and additional interpretation of certain data. The FDA set a user fee deadline of May 1. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 25, 2006.)

• Peakadilly NV, of Ghent, Belgium, changed its name to Pronota NV, effective immediately. Following the recent close of Series A financing at €14.5 million (US$18.4 million), the company is increasing capacity of both equipment and employees, and said the name change is part of its positioning to become recognized as a major player in protein biomarker discovery and application.