• Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., launched the European Cytogenetic Research Initiative, a collaboration between Affymetrix, the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, the University of Tuebingen in Germany and the NHS Regional Genetics Laboratory in Birmingham, UK. The collaborators are using Affymetrix microarray technology to identify the specific causative mutations in mentally retarded children. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Calypte Biomedical Corp., of Lake Oswego, Ore., said it leased an 11,000-square-foot site in Portland, Ore., which permits consolidation of its research laboratory and administrative functions under one roof and will become its new headquarters. The site also provides manufacturing space, which the company plans use to build pilot lots for clinical trials in the U.S. Calypte, which develops HIV and other diagnostics, expects to occupy the facility in September.

• Dyadic International Inc., of Jupiter, Fla., received notice from the American Stock Exchange that its stock listing is being continued pursuant to an extension. The company must demonstrate progress toward its plan to regain compliance.

• InterMune Inc., of Brisbane, Calif., entered into a new supply agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Austria GmbH, a unit of Boehringer Ingelheim, of Ingelheim, Germany, for Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b). As a result, InterMune eliminates approximately $91.6 million in future purchase commitments for Actimmune that existed under the previous supply agreement. InterMune will pay BI Austria about $5.5 million. Under the terms of the new supply agreement, InterMune is not required to make any minimum annual purchase commitments and BI Austria is not required to commit to reserving any minimum annual capacity for the manufacture of Actimmune. The product is marketed for treating chronic granulomatous disease and severe, malignant osteopetrosis.

• Kreatech Biotechnology BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, licensed a labeling technology to Agilent Technologies Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif. The technology is expected to optimize Agilent's array-based comparative genomic hybridization platform for DNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The method is based on Kreatech's Universal Linkage System non-enzymatic direct labeling technology. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Kylin Therapeutics Inc., of West Lafayette, Ind., gained an exclusive license to commercialize a technology designed to better target RNA interference delivery against disease-causing genes. The license was granted by the Purdue Research Foundation. The license includes more than 12 patent applications covering pRNA, a technology invented and developed by Peixuan Guo when he was a professor at Purdue University. Kylin's lead product is a pRNA-based therapeutic to treat cancer, with follow-on plans for developing treatments for viral diseases such as AIDS. IN-vivo Ventures and Golden Pine Ventures helped to form Kylin, and provided seed financing to launch the company's development efforts. Guo is a founder of the company and serves as chairman of its scientific advisory board.

• MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, and partner Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, said the FDA accepted for filing the supplemental new drug application for Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) injection. The sNDA seeks approval for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Aloxi already is approved by the FDA for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately and highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy and for the prevention of delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy.

• Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said it received approval in Switzerland to commercialize its DCVax-Brain product for treatment of brain cancer patients. DCVax-Brain is the first commercially available therapeutic vaccine for such cancers, it said. The company intends to begin making the product available to patients this quarter. DCVax products are personalized treatments made by combining a patient's own dendritic cells with cancer biomarkers derived from or displayed by the patient's own tumor. NWBT is conducting a Phase II pivotal trial in 141 brain cancer patients in the U.S. that, if positive, would be expected to support approval. That trial began enrolling patients in December, and is anticipated to conclude around the end of 2008. NWBT's stock (OTC BB:NWBO) gained $5.23 Monday, or 249 percent, to close at $7.33.

• Novavax Inc., of Rockville, Md., entered a nonexclusive, worldwide license agreement with Wyeth, of Madison, N.J., giving Novavax rights to a patent application covering virus-like particle technology for use in human vaccines in certain fields. The agreement provides for an up-front payment, annual license fees, milestone payments and royalties on any product sales. Payments to Wyeth could reach $5 million through the end of 2008. Novavax is developing pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines based upon the VLP technology. The licensed patent application supplements Novavax's position in the field.

• NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., and European commercialization partner Nycomed A/S, of Roskilde, Denmark, amended a license deal from 2004 on Preotact (Preos, full-length parathyroid hormone). Nycomed gains the right to commercialize Preotact in all ex-U.S. territories, excluding Japan, for which NPS retains commercial rights, and Israel, which is the subject of a pre-existing deal. Upon registration and approval in the U.S., rights to Canada and Mexico will revert to NPS. The agreement provides for the transfer of manufacturing responsibility from NPS to Nycomed for drug supply in its territories. Additionally, the agreement grants NPS the right to monetize the royalty stream from Preotact sales. As part of the manufacturing transfer, Nycomed will pay NPS $11 million for a significant portion of the existing bulk drug supply. Additional financial details were not disclosed.

• Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boston, and Warner Chilcott Co. Inc., of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, entered an exclusive license agreement for the development and commercialization of narrow-spectrum tetracyclines for the treatment of acne and rosacea. Paratek is developing antibacterial tetracyclines that are designed to have improved properties. Warner Chilcott will assume responsibility for clinical development and will have exclusive rights to market the products in the U.S. Paratek received an up-front payment and will be eligible to receive development and regulatory milestones, as well as royalties on sales. The lead candidate under the agreement is in preclinical development and expected to enter the clinic in 2008.

• Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., licensed worldwide exclusive rights to a novel anti-angiogenesis technology from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The agreement is for development and commercialization rights to all forms of "clipped" (or nicked) beta 2 glycoprotein 1 (B2GP1) protein. The anticancer potential of clipped B2GP1 was reported in a study published in September that showed inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation, and a 96 percent reduction in tumor growth in an animal model of bladder cancer. Peregrine is sponsoring research at M.D. Anderson on preclinical trials. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Pluristem Life Systems Inc., of New York, entered a collaborative research agreement with the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapy in Berlin. They will work on a variety of applications of mesenchymal stem cells derived from the placenta that have been expanded in the company's PluriX 3-D bioreactor. The initial focus will be on neurological indications such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. The agreement also covers organ transplantation and cardiovascular indications such as inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Pluristem will be the exclusive owner of the technology and any products stemming from the collaboration. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Protein Polymer Technologies Inc., of San Diego, said it entered into an agreement with a medical device company. PPTI will provide genetically engineered protein polymer biomaterials for use in drug delivery applications. Details on the deal were not disclosed.

• Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., is the subject of a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the firm Federman & Sherwood. The complaint alleges the company made material misrepresentations to the market, which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price. The class period is from Feb. 4, 2005, through July 14, 2006. The company had announced a partial clinical hold on its TH-070 (lonidamine) program in benign prostatic hyperplasia due to toxicities associated with elevated liver enzymes, and later ended development due to lack of efficacy. (See BioWorld Today, July 18, 2006.)

• ViaCell Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of ViaCell in a patent infringement suit brought against the company and others by PharmaStem Therapeutics Inc., of Wayne, Pa. The ruling upheld an earlier decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware that ViaCell, through its marketing of ViaCord, does not infringe PharmaStem patents related to certain aspects of collection, cryopreservation, storage and use of hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

• Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla., was notified by the American Stock Exchange that a listing qualifications panel affirmed an earlier determination to delist the company's common stock, units and warrants. Viragen securities will continue to trade on AMEX through Wednesday, and begin trading on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board the next day.