• 4-Antibody AG, of Basel, Switzerland, appointed Richard Mason CEO. Mason previously served as executive-in-residence at venture capital firm Advent Venture Partners.

• Alpharma Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., said its board unanimously rejected the unsolicited tender offer by Bristol, Tenn.-based King Pharmaceuticals Inc. to acquire all of Alpharma's outstanding shares at $37 per share. The company urged shareholders not to tender shares and called King's offer financially inadequate. Earlier this month, King opted to go hostile in its bid to buy Alpharma in a deal valued at $1.6 billion. In response to Alpharma, King argued that its offer was the only offer and it was in the "best interests of Alpharma stockholders to consummate our transaction as quickly as possible." Shares of Alpharma (NYSE:ALO) gained 67 cents Friday to close at $37.25. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 12, 2008.)

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said its Swiss affiliate, Berna Biotech, will eliminate animal testing and close the animal house in Bern, Switzerland, this year. The move is part of the company's plan to replace animal testing with in vitro alternatives.

• CuraGen Corp., of Branford, Conn., said it received a Nasdaq warning letter stating that its share price had fallen below the $1 minimum requirement. The company has until March 23, 2009, to regain compliance.

• IDM Pharma Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use will review the remaining issues in the company's application for mifamurtide in non-metastatic resectable osteosarcoma in November. IDM Pharma expects a final marketing decision from the European Commission in the first quarter of 2009.

• Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said it signed a deal giving Jerusalem-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. exclusive, worldwide rights to pagoclone, a GABA-A receptor agonist in development for stuttering. Under the terms, Indevus could receive up to $92.5 million in milestones in a 50/50 agreement, in which the companies will share developing and marketing costs after Phase IIb trials and split potential profits. If Indevus opts not to continue the 50/50 deal, it would receive up to $50 million in U.S.-based sales threshold milestones. Outside the U.S., Indevus will receive royalties in net sales. Teva will reimburse Indevus for expenses related to a 300-patient Phase IIb study aimed at evaluating pagaclone in stuttering for a six-month period. Enrollment is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2009. In separate news, Indevus said it reached an agreement with the FDA on its new drug submission for Nebido (testosterone undecanoate) in male hypogonadism, now expected in the first quarter of 2009. The drug received an approvable letter in late June, with the FDA requesting additional safety data relating to instances of a rare cough reaction experienced by some patients immediately following injection. Shares of Indevus (NASDAQ:IDEV) jumped $1.78, or 103 percent, Friday to close at $3.51. (See BioWorld Today, July 1, 2008.)

• Merck Serono SA, of Geneva, said the European Commission for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion recommending approval of Kuvan (sapropterin dihydrochloride) in hyperphenylalaninemia in patients with phenylketonuria. Kuvan has orphan designation in the European Union. The product previously gained approval in the U.S. as an orphan drug and is marketed by Novato, Calif.-based BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.

• Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said its board appointed John Babich interim CEO and chairman. Babich previously served as the company's president and chief scientific officer.

• Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Fremont, Calif., said preclinical studies showed that QPI-1007, a siRNA drug candidate in development for eye diseases, showed neuroprotective activity toward retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in different animal models of acute and severe optic nerve injury. It also significantly protected retinal neurons against delayed degeneration and reduced injury-induced RGC death in vivo.

• Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc., of East Brunswick, N.J., said it continues to evaluate strategic business development options for lead product pegloticase, as well as other strategic transactions. The company said, however, that it remains on track to file a biologics license application for pegloticase in treatment-failure gout by the end of October.

• Telik Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said it received a Nasdaq warning letter stating that the company's share price had fallen below the $1 minimum requirement. The company has until March 18, 2009, to regain compliance.