• Atugen AG, of Berlin, and the GeneTrove division of Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., entered into an intellectual property license agreement. Through the licensing of specific functional genomic patents from Isis, Atugen supplements its existing intellectual property position by gaining rights to practice Isis' antisense-based functional genomics technology, and to use antisense for discovery and validation of targets and for small-molecule drug discovery research in its programs. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Australian Cancer Technology Ltd., of Perth, Australia, completed a share placement arranged by Intersuisse Corporate Pty. Ltd. in which it is issuing 6 million shares at A14 cents per share to raise A$840,000 (US$492,889) before costs. The company's Pentrix anticancer vaccine is completing Phase Ib/IIa trials at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a PER.C6 license agreement with Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., allowing Centocor to evaluate the production of monoclonal antibodies using the PER.C6 human cell line. Centocor also has an option for a nonexclusive worldwide commercial product license to manufacture one or more specified monoclonal antibody products using the cell line. Crucell will receive an up-front payment, annual maintenance fees and potential royalties. Further financial details were not disclosed.

• CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, granted an option to PSMA Development Co., a joint venture between Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., and Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., to license TranzFect, CytRx's vaccine adjuvant technology. It would use TranzFect in a prostate cancer vaccine. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Debiopharm SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, reported a collaboration with Tulane University in New Orleans for which it will provide funding for three years to establish the Mauvernay Research Excellence Fund, for the discovery of new therapeutic agents for cancer. Both parties may mutually agree to extend the fund beyond the initial period.

• Enchira Biotechnology Corp., of The Woodlands, Texas, said stockholders approved its plan of complete liquidation and dissolution at the adjournment of a special meeting Tuesday. The company said it intends to file a certificate of dissolution with Delaware's secretary of state as soon as practicable, which will have the effect of terminating the company's existence for all purposes except certain wind-down activities.

• Eternal Technologies Group Inc., of Beijing, opened the Beijing AnBo Embryo Biotech Center, with Clone Australia Pty. Ltd. and Canadian Pacific Genetics Center investing in the project. The center will allow Eternal to shift its manufacturing process to domestic production and end its reliance on importing genetic material, it said.

• Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, achieved a clinical milestone in its drug discovery chemistry services agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. An undisclosed milestone payment was triggered by a drug candidate advancing in clinical testing. The candidate was identified and optimized with the help of chemistry services and libraries provided to Vertex by Evotec. As part of an agreement that began in 1998, Vertex has used a range of chemistries from Evotec as well as compounds and compound arrays for screening and lead optimization.

• Eximias Pharmaceutical Corp., of Berwyn, Pa., said an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board unanimously recommended the continuation of the Phase III ETHECC trial (Evaluation of Thymitaq in Hepatocellular Cancer). The anticancer agent Thymitaq is the only drug with clinical data showing a survival advantage in liver cancer, the company said. The DSMB interim review of safety data was completed successfully in more than 140 patients from the ongoing global trial.

• Galapagos Genomics NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, launched its SilenceSelect gene-silencing platform. The SilenceSelect collection contains adenoviruses with gene sequences that induce knock-down through an RNA interference mechanism. The collection can be analyzed in cellular assays to search for genes that modulate a specific disease phenotype. The platform will be presented at the Keystone Symposium Saturday.

• Genomics Collaborative Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Celera Diagnostics, a joint venture between the Applied Biosystems Group, of Foster City, Calif., and Celera Genomics Group, of Rockville, Md., formed an agreement to support Celera Diagnostics' efforts to identify genetic patterns associated with rheumatoid arthritis. GCI will provide access to its DNA sample sets associated with RA, matched with unaffected control samples. Celera Diagnostics plans to analyze the samples to identify genetic markers and disease. GCI will receive an up-front payment as well as milestone payments on any products commercialized.

• Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., completed its cash tender offer for all outstanding common stock of Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Durham, N.C. In the deal, 97.4 percent of the outstanding common stock of Triangle was validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the offer. All shares have been accepted for purchase by Simbolo Acquisition Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead. The companies announced in December a definitive merger agreement, valued at $464 million, for Gilead to acquire Triangle for $6 per share of Triangle common stock. Each share of common stock not accepted for purchase in the offer will, subject to appraisal rights, be converted into the right to receive $6 in cash. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 5, 2002.)

• Immtech International Inc., of Vernon Hills, Ill., entered a joint venture to develop a manufacturing facility capable of producing commercial quantities of its pharmaceutical products. It purchased from its joint venture partner an 80 percent interest in a company that owns a commercial real estate parcel located in Shenzhen, China. The subsidiary will operate under the name Immtech Hong Kong Ltd. Immtech focuses on oral treatments for fungal diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis, pneumonia and cancer.

• ImmunoGen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported publication of Phase I study results of cantuzumab mertansine (huC242-DM1/SB-408075) in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The report includes findings related to the product's safety, pharmacokinetics and activity. It also presents evidence, from tumor biopsy, of localization of cantuzumab mertansine in cancerous tissue. The authors reported that the recommended dose for cantuzumab mertansine is 235 mg/m2 when the product is administered once every three weeks.

• Locus Discovery Inc., of Blue Bell, Pa., changed its name to Locus Pharmaceuticals Inc. It said the name change brings clarity to its mission to develop small-molecule therapeutics and more accurately reflects its transition to a drug development company.

• Luminex Corp., of Austin, Texas, and Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., executed two agreements that grant Abbott license, supply and distribution rights to Luminex biological testing technologies. The license agreement grants Abbott a worldwide license under Luminex patents, including Luminex's bead-based xMAP technology, for the development of assays and instruments. The companies also signed a supply and distribution agreement granting Abbott rights to purchase and distribute Luminex products.

• Lynx Therapeutics Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said that its board approved a 1-for-7 reverse split of its common stock, following approval by the company's stockholders on Tuesday. The company's stock began trading on a post-split basis Thursday under the temporary trading symbol "LYNXD" for about 20 trading days before reverting to "LYNX" on or about Feb. 13. The reverse split will reduce the number of shares of common stock outstanding from about 32.5 million to about 4.6 million. Lynx also reported that it received a Nasdaq staff determination on Jan. 10 indicating that, in addition to the minimum bid price deficiency, Lynx fails to comply with Nasdaq's audit committee composition requirement for continued listing.

• Procognia Ltd., of London, acquired Sense Proteomic Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, to advance its mission to create a suite of technological solutions for needs arising in drug discovery, development and manufacturing. In conjunction with the acquisition, the company closed another round of finance for $4 million from existing shareholders Apax Partners, Evergreen Partners and Vitalife, bringing to $18.3 million the funds raised by Procognia since its inception in April 2002.

• Variagenics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., granted worldwide licenses to GeneOhm Sciences Inc., of San Diego; Sciona Ltd., of Hants, UK; and Tm Bioscience Corp., of Toronto, relating to Variagenics' MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) patent rights. Variagenics granted the companies worldwide nonexclusive rights to commercialize several test formats to detect polymorphisms within the MTHFR gene for applications, including the assessment of thromboembolic disease risk. Variagenics retains the rights to the development of pharmacogenomic applications in oncology and other disease areas. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Vion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., executed a clinical trials agreement for its anticancer drug Triapine with the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis in Bethesda, Md. The agreement covers the conduct of future trials sponsored by the NCI to explore the activity of Triapine as a single agent or in combination with other agents in patients with cancer. Initial approval by the NCI to collaborate with Vion on the development of Triapine was reported by Vion in November. Vion's stock (NASDAQ:VION) rose 16 cents Thursday, or 31.5 percent, to close at 48 cents.

• Zen-Bio Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Linco Diagnostic Services Inc., of St. Charles, Mo., launched a joint contract assay service for monitoring the release of cytokines and endocrine analytes from human adipocytes and preadipocytes. The service takes advantage of LINCOplex assays offered by Linco Diagnostics and the cultured human adipocyte model offered by Zen-Bio.