• Advanced Cell Technology Inc., of Alameda, Calif., could receive a potential $1.25 million in a deal that grants an exclusive license to Embryome Sciences Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BioTime Inc., also of Alameda, to use ACTCellerate embryonic stem cell technology and a bank of more than 140 diverse progenitor cell lines derived using that technology. Under the agreement, ACT received an up-front payment of $250,000, and is eligible to receive an 8 percent royalty on sales of products, services, and processes that utilize the licensed technology. Once a total of $1 million of royalties has been paid, no further royalties will be due. ACT has an option to reacquire rights to use the ACTCellerate technology for the development of certain types of stem cells for human therapeutic use in fields related to its core business. ACTCellerate is a recently discovered technology that allows the rapid isolation of novel highly purified embryonic progenitor cells. Embryonic progenitors are cells intermediate between embryonic stem cells and fully differentiated cells. Using the ACTCellerate platform technology, more than 140 distinguishable novel progenitor cell lines already have been created, scaled-up, and banked. The unique cell lines may possess the ability to become a wide array of products never before available to the medical community, with potential applications in research, drug discovery and human regenerative stem cell therapy, the company said.

• CPEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Exeter, N.H., said it has signed an agreement with DPT Laboratories, of San Antonio, that provides long-term, manufacturing capacity for Nasulin, CPEX's intranasal insulin product candidate currently in Phase II trials for diabetes. If Nasulin is approved, the agreement also provides for validation of the manufacturing process and the opportunity for manufacturing capacity that CPEX expects will be sufficient for the first years of commercial marketing. CPEX said it expects to complete the Phase II trials of Nasulin in mid-2010. The company said it is seeking a partner for the drug.

• Duska Therapeutics Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., said it has received comments from the FDA's Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products on a synopsis of a proposed Phase III study of ATPace for the acute treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, a cardiac arrhythmia condition. The company said it is in the process of modifying the proposed Phase III trial based on regulators' comments and plans to submit a revised protocol to the FDA for special protocol assessment procedure approval. Duska said it intends to initiate a single, prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in patients presenting to the emergency room with PSVT to demonstrate ATPace's clinical safety and efficacy.

• EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, Md., hired JSB-Partners LP to assist with partnering activities around EntreMed's kinase inhibitor ENMD-2076. The Phase I cancer compound targets several kinases including Aurora A, VEGFR, FGFR, PDGFR, Flt-3, Scr and C-Kit.

• Genitope Corp., of Fremont, Calif., said it received a staff determination letter from Nasdaq stating that it has not regained compliance with the minimum $1 per share bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. Genitope currently does not intend to appeal that determination, meaning its stock will be suspended at the opening of business Aug. 18. Nasdaq also advised the company that its stock will not be immediately eligible to trade on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board or in the Pink Sheets.

• Geron Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., and Exeter Life Sciences Inc., of Phoenix, said their joint venture firm, Start Licensing Inc., a company that manages and licenses intellectual property rights related to animal reproductive technologies, will merge with Exeter subsidiary ViaGen Inc., an animal genomics and livestock cloning firm.

• Immunosyn Corp., of La Jolla, Calif., said that marketing, distribution and patient treatment approval has been granted by the Ministry of Health Malaysia for SF-1019 in the private-pay heath sector in Malaysia. The marketing name for SF-1019 in Malaysia will be R-1818. The ministry also gave approval for physicians in Malaysia to prescribe and export SF-1019 to patients residing outside of Malaysia. It is the first country to grant regulatory marketing, treatment and distribution approval of SF-1019, Immunosyn said.

• Lipid Sciences Inc., of Pleasanton, Calif., hired Rodman & Renshaw LLC to explore strategic options for maximizing shareholder value, including partnerships, joint ventures, mergers or the sale of the company or its assets. The company's programs target atherosclerosis and lipid-enveloped viruses. Additionally, Lipid received notice that its stock does not meet Nasdaq requirements and will be delisted this week, but the company plans to request an appeal hearing.

• MabVax Therapeutics Inc., of Encinitas, Calif., said it has completed two separate licensing agreements with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, of New York. The first agreement grants MabVax exclusive development and commercialization rights to multiple vaccines against recurrent cancer for six different types of cancer. MSKCC plans to initiate Phase I clinical trials in each of the cancer types by early next year. Upon successful demonstration of immunogenicity and tolerability in the Phase I trials in sarcoma and small-cell lung cancer, MabVax will initiate Phase II trials in the two cancer types. In addition to MabVax's efforts, MSKCC is planning to conduct Phase II trials with the licensed vaccines in ovarian and breast cancer. Pending successful outcomes, MabVax can assume responsibility for continued development and eventual commercialization of those vaccines under the deal. The second license agreement grants MabVax exclusive rights to the use of the licensed vaccines and lymphocytes from successfully vaccinated clinical trial participants. MabVax said it plans to rescue antibodies from the patient samples to create a pipeline of fully human monoclonal antibody products against each of the vaccine targets expressed on the surface of the cancer cells. MabVax said it has established a laboratory and office in the San Diego area to launch the effort.

• Medistem Inc., of Phoenix, changed its corporate name from Medistem Laboratories Inc. to Medistem Inc. to avoid confusion with respect to its business activities. The company also effected a 1-for-25 reverse stock split, after which it has about 5.3 million shares outstanding, and was given a new ticker symbol, "MEDS.OB." Medistem focuses on developing and commercializing technologies related to adult stem cell extraction, manipulation and use in inflammatory and degenerative diseases.

• Mesoblast Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, reported successful preclinical trial results showing that its adult stem cells regenerated and regrew damaged knee cartilage in postmenopausal osteoarthritis. The company intends to target product commercialization for both postmenopausal and post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis markets. Mesoblast said it has sufficient funds to commence Phase II trials of the therapy in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

• OrthoLogic Corp., of Tempe, Ariz., said that was notified by Nasdaq that it did not meet the $1 minimum bid price for 30 consecutive days. The company has until Feb. 4, 2009, to regain compliance.

• Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc., of Costa Mesa, Calif., said it developed a gel-like formulation of Oxycyte, its perfluorocarbon oxygen carrier. Intravenous Oxycyte is being studied for traumatic brain injury, while the gel form will be studied for wounds, burns and abrasions.

• Pain Therapeutics Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., and its partner and King Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bristol, Tenn., said the FDA has granted priority review status to Remoxy, an experimental abuse-resistant, controlled-release, gelatin capsule formulation of oxycodone being investigated to treat moderate-to-severe chronic pain. (See BioWorld Today, June 11, 2008.)

• Stromedix Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said its lead candidate, STX-100, was granted orphan drug status by the FDA in chronic allograft nephropathy, a fibrotic condition that causes kidney transplant failure. Orphan designation provides certain tax advantages and would guarantee seven years of marketing exclusivity upon approval. STX-100 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting integrin alpha(v)beta6 that has been shown in preclinical models to have antifibrotic activity in kidney, lung and liver disease. Stromedix started a Phase I trial of STX-100 earlier this year.