• Alseres Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Hopkinton, Mass., said that following the expiration of its current leases it will consolidate its offices to new headquarters in Hopkinton. The new location has a three-year renewable lease, and is expected to continue to reduce on-going overhead expenses for facility operation

• ArunA Biomedical Inc., of Athens, Ga., said it has entered an exclusive worldwide technology licensing agreement with the University of Georgia Research Foundation that will enable the company to commercialize human mesenchymal cells developed at the university. Human mesenchymal cells are derived from human embryonic stem cells, a product never before available. ArunA will offer the academic and industrial research communities access to the cells grown as cultures in multiple turn-key kit formats. The kits will provide research material for use in an array life science research applications.

• Caliper Life Sciences Inc., of Hopkinton, Mass., received a $1.1 million task order under the Environmental Protection Agency's ToxCast screening program, which awarded the firm a potential $69 million contract in April 2007 for five years of screening services. The company helps the EPA develop approaches for identifying chemical compounds that are potentially toxic to the environment. To date, Caliper has received task orders totaling about $3.6 million.

• Cellumen Inc., of Pittsburgh, signed an agreement with Osaka, Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. to develop panels of biomarkers that identify toxicity early in the drug development process. The deal includes the use of Cellumen's CellCiphr CSB Toxicity Profiling Services aimed at identifying toxic compounds in late primary screening through early preclinical phases prior to entering more expensive preclinical testing. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Cel-Sci Corp., of Vienna, Va., entered an exclusive licensing agreement granting Jerusalem-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. rights to market and distribute its cancer drug Multikine in Israel and Turkey. The deal initially is restricted to head and neck cancer, though Teva has the right, subject to certain conditions, to extend the agreement to include other cancers. Under the terms, Teva will participate in Cel-Sci's upcoming Phase III trial, funding a portion of that study and conducting part of the study in Israel. Upon approval, Teva will handle sales of the immunotherapeutic drug in its territories, with revenues to be split on a 50-50 basis between the firms. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

• EndoBiologics Inc., of Missoula, Mont., formed a research partnership with PATH, an international, nonprofit organization, to investigate conjugate vaccine candidates against enteric bacteria that cause dysentery and severe diarrhea. PATH will fund EndoBiologics to complete preclinical research into process development, mucosal immunization and evaluation of antigens for potential protection in animal models. The company will focus on vaccines against Shigella bacteria. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said it appointed Rock Doman as president and CEO, reconstituted its board of directors, changed its name to Eacom Timber Corp. and will focus on the lumber and forestry sector. The company became a cash shell last year after selling essentially all of its assets to Stockholm, Sweden-based Biolipox AB.

• Mdrna Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said it has signed an exclusive license agreement to intellectual property from the University of Michigan covering cationic peptides for enhanced delivery of nucleic acids. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Medistem Laboratories Inc., of San Diego, reported positive efficacy data supporting development of its lead product, Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC) in critical limb ischemia. Data showed that administration of ERC preserved leg function and viability in animal models. ERC is designed as a "universal donor" stem cell derived from menstrual blood that has shown the ability to differentiate into nine tissue types, produce large quantities of growth factors and a large proliferative capacity.

• Melior Discovery Inc., of Exton, Pa., said it signed a deal with London-based AstraZeneca plc to use its in vivo theraTrace indications discovery platform to evaluate the therapeutic activity of selected AstraZeneca compounds. Terms were not disclosed.

• Omeros Corp., of Seattle, and Affitech AS, of Oslo, Norway, said they have entered into an agreement for the discovery and development of fully human antibodies for Omeros' mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 program. Under the partnership, Affitech will apply its human antibody libraries and antibody discovery and screening technologies, including its AffiScreen platform and engineering methods, to generate fully human MASP-2 antibodies for Omeros. Financial terms include an undisclosed technology access fee, a series of milestone payments and royalties on net sales payable by Omeros. No other financial details were disclosed.

• Regulus Therapeutics LLC, a joint venture of Cambridge, Mass.-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Carlsbad, Calif.-based Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., said research performed in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston demonstrated that the microRNA miR-21 is responsible for the regulation of multiple genes associated with glioma tumor cell death, migration and invasiveness. Data showed that increased miR-21 levels in tumor cells correlated with the grade or aggressiveness of the tumor; highest levels of miR-21 were associated with the most aggressive forms of glioblastoma multiforme. Research was published in Molecular and Cellular Biology.

• Telik Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., has granted rights to ReceptorBio Inc., of Foster City, Calif., to develop and commercialize its oral small-molecule insulin receptor activators, which were identified through the application of Telik's drug discovery technology known as TRAP. No financial terms were disclosed.

• Vical Inc., of San Diego, entered a research collaboration to test its Vaxfectin adjuvant with a DNA vaccine against HIV. The collaboration with the Karolinska Institute of Sweden and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control will evaluate Vaxfectin adjuvant with Tualatin, Ore.-based Bioject Medical Technologies Inc.'s Biojector 2000 needle-free injection system.