• Althea Technologies Inc., of San Diego, has acquired the assets and intellectual property portfolio of Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Waltham, Mass. The IP portfolio includes Altus' Cross Linked Enzyme Crystal and controlled-release injectable technologies. Applications of the protein crystal technology range from therapeutics to protein purification and catalysis. The controlled-release injectable technology involves protein crystallization and complexation using customized manufacturing equipment installed at Althea. Additionally, the assets comprise product candidates based on the technologies, which include a seven-day controlled-release growth hormone injectable which has completed a Phase II trial. Althea plans to enter licensing discussions for those product candidates.

• BioMarker Strategies, of Baltimore, said the National Cancer Institute has approved the first $1 million in Phase II funding for the company's Small Business Innovative Research contract to develop the SnapPath live tumor cell testing system, which is intended to enable drugmakers to stratify patients in clinical trials and assist oncologists in determining the most effective targeted drug for cancer patients. The company is eligible to receive an additional $1 million in April 2011, for a total potential contract award of $2.3 million.

• BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lincolnshire, Ill., said it has reinitiated its GVAX prostate cancer vaccine program and is pursuing steps with the FDA to lift the current clinical hold on the program. The firm said manufacturing of new GVAX prostate vaccine is in process, with expectations for prostate cancer patients to be treated in a Phase II study beginning in the fourth quarter. The program is a collaboration among BioSante, which is funding the manufacturing of the GVAX prostate vaccine; the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is conducting the trial; and the Prostate Cancer Foundation, which is providing support for the study.

• BioTime Inc., of Alameda, Calif., said that it has completed its acquisition of the Singapore-based company ES Cell International Pte Ltd. Established in 2000, ESI works in the development of human embryonic stem cell technology, and its assets include a bank of six new clinical-grade human embryonic stem cell lines and equity in stem cell specialist Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd., of Israel. In exchange for all of ESI's shares and debt, BioTime has issued to ESI's former shareholders and debtholders 1.38 million BioTime common shares, and warrants to purchase an additional 300,000 common shares at an exercise price of $10 per share. The BioTime warrants issued in the acquisition will expire four years after the date of issue.

• Clinical Data Inc., of Newton, Mass., and Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, said Santen has exercised its option to license Clinical Data's ATL313, a highly selective adenosine A2a agonist compound, for the development of topical treatments for certain ophthalmic diseases, including glaucoma. Santen will pay $2 million up front to Clinical Data, which also stands to gain undisclosed milestone payments based on regulatory and commercial achievements, plus royalties on sales. The firms said ATL313, a late-stage preclinical compound, has shown significant pharmacological effects in vivo and has been nominated as a clinical candidate.

• Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Berkeley Heights, N.J., has received a complaint filed by Celgene Corp., of Summit, N.J., seeking a declaration from the court that four Cyclacel-owned patents, which claim the use of romidepsin injection in T-cell lymphomas, are not infringed by Celgene's products and are invalid. Cyclacel and its counsel have not had an opportunity to thoroughly review those filings. The four patents cited in the complaint do not involve Cyclacel's clinical development candidates nor its commercial products.

• CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, reported interim study results that showed its doxorubicin prodrug INNO-206 demonstrated statistically significant antitumor activity in human myeloma tumor cells growing in immune-deficient mice compared to a control group, while exhibiting significantly less toxicity than doxorubicin, even though INNO-206 was administered at much higher doses. The company said it is exploring the possibility of rapidly including multiple myeloma in its INNO-206 clinical development plans.

• DSM Biologics, of Parsippany, N.J., has signed a preliminary agreement to enter a partnership with the Australian Governments (Queensland State Government and the Commonwealth of Australia) to design, build and operate the first major Australia-based mammalian biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility, which would be located in Brisbane.

• Genetic Technologies Ltd., of Fitzroy, Australia, has signed a settlement and license agreement for its noncoding patents with Gen-Probe Inc., of San Diego. The license covers the worldwide activities of Gen-Probe in relation to its genetic diagnostics and analysis products. The commercial terms of the license were not disclosed. Discussions between the companies are a result of Genetic Technologies' previously announced patent infringement suit, filed in the US District Court, Western District of Wisconsin.

• Geron Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., said the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has reversed an earlier decision from the re-examination division that had upheld the claims of a patent assigned to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and licensed to Geron covering human embryonic stem cells. The patent is one of three WARF patents licensed to Geron and have been the subject of the re-examination proceedings. The patents cover the early work at the University of Wisconsin, dating back to the early 1990s, resulting in the first isolation of non-human primate and human embryonic stem cells. The nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which challenged the validity of WARF's stem cell patent claims, called the PTO's decision a "major victory for unfettered scientific research." But Geron insisted that the PTO's decision was not the final rejection of WARF's patent claims, stating that the company was confident the organization would make a strong case in support of the patentability of its claims in continued examination.

• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Mumbai, India, granted Sanofi-Aventis Group SA, of Paris, rights to develop and commercialize its vanilloid receptor antagonist molecules, including a first-in-class clinical compound, GRC 15300, which currently is in Phase I development as a potential next-generation treatment for various pain conditions, including diabetic neuropathic pain and osteoarthritic pain. Under the deal's terms, Sanofi is paying $20 million up front to Glenmark, which also could bank an additional $325 million based on achieving certain milestones, plus tiered double-digit royalties on sales. Sanofi will have exclusive marketing rights for North America, European Union and Japan, subject to Glenmark's right to co-promote the products in the U.S. and five Eastern European countries. Sanofi also has co-marketing rights in 10 other countries, including Brazil, Russia and China under the deal, while Glenmark has retained exclusive rights in India and other countries of the rest of the world.

• Otonomy Inc., of San Diego, presented preclinical experimental results for ODTO-104, its company's sustained-release dexamethasone gel for the treatment of hearing and balance disorders, which showed it can effectively deliver a prolonged and dose-proportional exposure of dexamethasone to the inner ear when administered by direct injection into the ear. The data were presented at the 2010 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting in Las Vegas.

• Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., and Stason Pharmaceuticals, of Irvine, Calif., entered agreements granting Stason certain exclusive development and commercialization rights to Peregrine's tumor necrosis therapy (TNT) technologies. Peregrine's lead TNT product candidate is Cotara, a novel brain cancer therapy currently in Phase II development. The company's TNT-based immunocytokines technology also has been licensed to Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany.

• PharmAthene Inc., of Annapolis, Md., said it has appointed Eric Richman interim CEO, replacing David Wright, who has resigned. Richman, who joined PharmAthene in October 2003, previously worked at MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., a subsidiary of AstraZeneca plc, of London.

• Prolor Biotech Inc., of Nes-Ziona, Israel, reported new preclinical data on the company's pipeline of drug candidates designed to reduce the dosing frequency of therapeutic proteins and peptides. The data include an update on Prolor's preclinical development program for its carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP)-enhanced version of interferon beta (IFN-Beta) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The preclinical data showed that the overall drug exposure of CTP-modified IFN-Beta administered subcutaneously was more than 200 times greater than an equivalent dose of commercial IFN-Beta.

• Schwarz Pharma Inc., a unit of UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, will pay $22 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company failed to advise the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs. The U.S. Justice Department alleged that Schwarz submitted false quarterly reports to the government related to Deponit and Hyoscyamine Sulfate Extended Release (Hyoscyamine Sulfate ER). Deponit is a nitroglycerin skin patch used to prevent angina and Hyoscyamine Sulfate ER is an antispasmodic medication. The FDA made determinations in 1997 and 1999 that resulted in the drugs being ineligible for reimbursement by government health care programs.

• Targacept Inc., of Winston-Salem, N.C., said it has expanded its 2005 collaboration to develop TC-561 with partner AstraZeneca plc, of London. In addition to the current development of TC-5619 in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, the amended terms provide for parallel development in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and potentially Alzheimer's disease. AstraZeneca will make an $11 million payment to Targacept and maintain its future option to license TC-5619. Targacept currently is conducting a Phase II proof-of-concept trial of TC-5619 in CDS and expects to initiate a Phase II proof-of-concept trial of the compound in adults with ADHD some time this month. The firm said it has agreed to conduct specified clinical and nonclinical studies, while AstraZeneca has agreed to conduct other specified nonclinical studies to support the potential advancement of TC-5619 into Phase II development for Alzheimer's disease.

• Warnex Medical Laboratories, a division of Warnex Inc., of Laval Quebec, and Epigenomics AG, of Berlin, have entered a nonexclusive licensing agreement for Epigenomics' colorectal cancer biomarker Septin9. Under the terms of the agreement, Warnex has obtained the rights to establish a laboratory-developed test for Septin9 and offer colorectal cancer blood testing services in Canada. Warnex plans to launch the testing service in the next few months. As the first laboratory to offer Septin9 testing in Canada, Warnex, subject to certain conditions, enjoys a time-limited head-start period of exclusivity for the Canadian market. Epigenomics will be entitled to certain royalty payments. Further contractual details were not disclosed.