• Bradmer Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Toronto, will combine with P1 Energy Corp., to form a combined entity to carry on exploration, development, and production of oil and gas resources in Colombia. Bradmer will return its intellectual property rights with respect to its investigational cancer therapy Neuradiab to Duke University. The move follows the 2009 suspension of a Phase III clinical trial of Neuradiab and suspension of business activities and operations. Bradmer's 19,659,726 outstanding shares will be exchanged for shares in the new company at a rate of 13.6364 for 1. The new company will have 147,854,880 shares outstanding on the TSX Venture Exchange, and Bradmer shareholders will own approximately 1 percent of them. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 18, 2009.)

• Cytos Biotechnology Ltd., of Zurich, Switzerland, presented data on the mechanism of action of CYT003-QbG10 (QbG10) for the treatment of allergic asthma and rhinitis at the 3rd International Conference on Drug Discovery and Therapy in Dubai. QbG10 is a Toll-like receptor 9 agonist with clinical proof-of-concept in allergic asthma and rhinitis. The company said QbG10 controls asthma by directly inhibiting Th2 responses and by fostering the generation of regulatory T cells.

• Neuro-Biotech Corp., of Basel, Switzerland, received an unsolicited offer for the purchase of all outstanding shares (OTC QB:MRES) at 15 cents per share. Neuro-Biotech said the company making the offer has similar expertise and is exclusively contracted by military agencies to conduct research and develop new types of medications. Neuro-Biotech, which develops diagnostic products for diseases related to the neuro-psycho-endocrine and immune systems, expects to provide additional details by Feb. 15.

• Omeros Corp., of Seattle, published research on its antifibrinolytic agents in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, demonstrating that unique antifibrinolytic agents can be derived from tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2). Omeros holds an exclusive license to these agents. The paper showed that the TFPI-2 variant KD1 reduced blood loss in a rodent model of surgical bleeding by 85 percent relative to saline treatment, demonstrating an antifibrinolytic effect at least equal to Trasylol, which was withdrawn from the market in 2008. Similar antifibrinolytic activity of a related variant KD1 also controlled by Omeros was confirmed by other researchers using human plasma evaluated by thromboelastography. Omeros, which raised $25 million in October 2010 to fund its G-protein coupled receptor program, has initiated scale-up activities of its lead antifibrinolytic compound in preparation for clinical trials. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 26, 2010.)

• Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., of San Diego, announced that it is reducing its staff by 23 employees, approximately 40 percent, in the aftermath of a complete response letter from the FDA on Jan. 31 regarding its new drug application for Contrave, the company's lead candidate for the treatment of obesity. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 2, 2011.)

• Promedior Inc., of Malvern, Pa., published research in the International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology showing that that human Pentraxin-2 (PTX-2), also called human Serum amyloid P (SAP), inhibits undesirable pro-fibrotic pathologies driven by TGFβ₁ and represents a novel therapeutic approach to treat diseases that involve lung fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The research validated that PTX-2/SAP can have therapeutic effects even in conditions driven by TGFβ₁ growth factor, and is building on the body of research showing the role of PTX-2/SAP in activating the body's natural ability to resolve tissue damage in disease processes that cause fibrosis and inflammation. Promedior is developing a pipeline of drugs based upon recombinant forms of PTX-2/SAP to treat and prevent fibrotic and inflammatory diseases.

• The European Medicines Agency Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products gave positive opinions for two orphan drug designations of QLT091001 by QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia. QLT091001 is being developed for inherited degenerative diseases, Leber congenital amaurosis, and retinitis pigmentosa. The FDA has already granted orphan drug status to QLT091001 for LRAT and RPE65 mutations in LCA and RP.

• The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, of Kansas City, Mo., and Intellikine Inc., of La Jolla, Calif. will collaborate on the development of kinase inhibitors of TORC1 and TORC2 for polycystic kidney disease. The PKD Foundation is working directly with biotech and pharmaceutical companies as part of its Accelerating Treatments to Patients program.

• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, said that subsidiary Biovail Laboratories International SRL (BLS) acquired the Canadian rights to Cholestagel (colesevelam), an oral bile acid sequestrant for hypercholesterolemia, from Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass. BLS will pay Genzyme $2 million up front, followed by milestone payments totaling up to $7 million. Colesevelam is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with primary hyperlipidemia as monotherapy and combination therapy with a statin. The product, marketed in the U.S. by Daiichi Sankyo under the brand name WelChol, will be promoted by BLS' sales force in Canada as a complement to the company's Tiazac XC.