• AspenBio Pharma Inc., of Castle Rock, Colo., said it plans to start clinical trials this quarter for the AppyScore human appendicitis blood-based diagnostic test. The firm said it anticipates completing all regulatory requirements and gain FDA 510(k) clearance this year for the first blood-based screen-triage test for human appendicitis. The company also said it plans this year to advance development of its second appendicitis test.

• Biophan Technologies Inc., of Pittsford, N.Y., said its board of directors approved the next phase of development of the Myotech Circulatory Support System, and allocated $2 million to accelerate its commercialization. Myotech is a majority-owned subsidiary of Biophan. With the current strategy, Myotech CSS could be on the market in the U.S. in as soon as 24 to 30 months, the company said.

• Cangene Corp., of Toronto, said its previously announced normal course issuer bid has been approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange. As of April 22, Cangene had 70,505,170 issued and outstanding common shares. Under the terms of the bid, Cangene may acquire for cancellation up to 1 million common shares, or approximately 1.4 percent, of Cangene's total issued and outstanding common shares. The bid will commence on April 25, and expire on April 24, 2009, or earlier if the maximum number of shares has been purchased.

• CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, said its scientists have discovered a series of compounds that amplify the natural cellular chaperone response to toxic misfolded proteins in cell culture, providing potential pipeline leads for drug candidates in a number of disease indications, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The firm said it plans to file a patent application for the compounds followed by submission of study results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Small-molecule amplifiers of the chaperone response have shown promising results in animal models of neurological impairment and diabetic complications, the firm said.

• Emiliem Inc., of San Francisco, has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health for the worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a series of compounds that modulate key biological pathways known to be important in the progression of cancer and other proliferative and inflammatory diseases. The lead compound, which is positioned for clinical trials within a year, targets a key mechanism that determines whether cells, particularly those in tumors, grow and proliferate. Financial terms and additional details were not disclosed.

• EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, Md., said its board of directors has decided against seeking stockholder approval for a reverse stock split at its June 5 stockholder meeting. The board concluded that, in light of the firm's recent gains in stock price, management confidence in the company's product pipeline and current case position, that it was not necessary to seek stockholder approval for the reverse stock split.

• Human BioSystems, of Palo Alto, Calif., has partnered with Dairy Development Group to form Environmental BioMass Energy, which will specialize in the conversion of waste biomass, such as cow manure, to renewable electrical energy using proprietary technology. Project implementation is being initiated in California. The CEO is Len Chapman, formerly a senior executive at Monsanto, Specialty Foods Corp., Safeway and Kraft Foods.

• Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said results from in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies confirmed that its liver-targeting technology preferentially activates IDX184 in the liver, potentially enhancing the antiviral activity of the drug and limiting systemic adverse effects. In an HCV replicon model, IDX184, a nucleotide prodrug, exhibited 10 times greater potency than the first-generation HCV nucleoside clinical drug candidates currently in development, Idenix said. In HCV genotype-1 infected chimpanzees, once-daily oral administration of 10 mg/kg of IDX184 resulted in a mean viral load reduction of 2.3 log10 (n=5) after four days of dosing.

• LIFE Biosystems AG, of Basel, Switzerland, has entered into a 10-year research agreement with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for joint research projects in the area of molecular medicine for the discovery, validation and development of drug markers, drug targets, combinatorial treatments, alternative medical uses, adverse drug reactions or modes of action of drugs. As part of the agreement, LIFE Biosystems will receive exclusive rights to commercialize intellectual property discovered. Under the terms, the parties also will work to develop in-silico models to evaluate combinatorial therapy treatments for cancer patients. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• MacroChem Corp., of New York, acquired Virium Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based development stage company focused on oncology, including its nucleoside analogue licensed from the Southern Research Institute. MacroChem issued approximately 23 million shares of common stock to Virium shareholders. James Pachence, Virium's president and CEO, has been appointed CEO of the combined company, and David P. Luci has been named president and chief business officer. Shares of MacroChem (OTC BB: MACM) fell 2 cents, or 6.7 percent, to close at 28 cents.

• Med BioGene Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the University Health Network have entered into license and collaboration agreements providing MBI with exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a prognostic test for early stage non-small-cell lung cancer developed by UHN. The test will be marketed under MBI's trade name, LungExpress Dx. It is a gene expression-based assay that provides information regarding each patient's prognosis for survival to more effectively guide treatment and improve the selection of patients for chemotherapy following surgical removal of their cancerous tumor. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Metabasis Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, said it has extended its collaboration with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. for an additional year, through June 2009. Under the terms, the two companies are working to identify small-molecule therapeutics with the potential to treat several diseases, including Type II diabetes and other metabolic diseases, by activation of an enzyme called AMP-activated Protein Kinase. Merck will continue to fund research efforts, and Metabasis is eligible to receive payments upon achievement of certain candidate development milestones.

• Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, said researchers at St. James's University Hospital in Leeds, UK, published the results of their work with reovirus in the May 1, 2008, online issue of The Journal of Immunology. The researchers studied the ability of reovirus to activate human dendritic cells, key regulators of both innate and adaptive immune responses. The data demonstrated that reovirus directly activates human DC, which in turn stimulate innate killing of cancer cells by natural killer and T cells, suggesting a novel potential role for T cells in oncolytic virus-induced local tumor cell death.

• Replidyne Inc., of Louisville, Colo., said it has discontinued enrollment in a placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial testing faropenem medoxomil (faropenem) in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis to conserve its cash and to support initiatives that include pursuing strategic transactions and maintaining its research programs. The study is one of four clinical trials, including two in community-acquired pneumonia and one in acute bacterial sinusitis, recommended by the FDA for a new drug application submission for faropenem to treat those three adult community respiratory tract infections. The other trials have not begun, and their future will depend on finding a partner for the program, the company said.

• Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Calgary, Alberta, said the FDA has allowed its investigational new drug application to proceed. The IND-opening study is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIb clinical trial of its lead program, NTx-265, for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. The trial is similar to the previously announced Canadian-based REGENESIS trial. The recruitment target is 20-30 patients at three or four enrolling sites. NTx-265 is a therapeutic regimen of two approved drugs, human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Erythropoietin, targeting stroke. The twin objectives are to stimulate the growth and differentiation of new neurons to replace the brain cells that were lost or damaged by the stroke, and to direct motor, visual and cognitive recovery after acute ischemic stroke.

• Unigene Laboratories Inc., of Fairfield, N.J., said it has broken ground on new facilities for its joint venture in China. The venture, called Unigene Biotechnology Co. Ltd., will focus on manufacturing, research and development of salmon calcitonin and parathyroid hormone and related products for China and possibly global markets. Construction of the first building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2008. Production and validation activities are expected to begin in 2009.