• Adherex Technologies Inc., of Ottawa, Ontario, named William Peters CEO and vice chairman. Peters, the chair of oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit and president of the Institute for Strategic Analysis and Innovation at the Detroit Medical Center, has been a member of the Adherex board since October. He replaces John Brooks, who is stepping down as CEO but will remain a member of board at the cancer therapeutics firm.

• Aegera Therapeutics Inc., of Montreal, said it completed a fourth license to manufacture and sell antibodies and kits targeted against Aegera's inhibitors of the apoptosis gene family. Aegera said it now has licensed out rights to antibodies targeted against XIAP, HIAP1, HIAP2 and NAIP. Aegera has 13 patents on and around the inhibitor of the apoptosis protein gene family.

• Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., submitted to the FDA data demonstrating that Enbrel (etanercept) inhibits radiographic progression of structural damage without increased side effects in many people with rheumatoid arthritis over a four-year period. Amgen said its drug has demonstrated the longest sustained inhibition of structural damage reported among all FDA-approved biologics to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The data will be submitted for presentation at a scientific conference.

• BioFocus plc, of Sittingbourne, UK, entered an agreement to provide discovery biology expertise for a high-throughput screening collaboration with Mitsubishi Pharma Corp., of Tokyo. Mitsubishi will transfer undisclosed assay protocols to BioFocus for primary and secondary screening. BioFocus will use its 100,000-unit screening library to identify hit molecules. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Clavis Pharma A/S, of Oslo, Norway, said its most advanced compound, CP-4055, entered Phase I/II trials in the UK and Norway to treat solid tumors. To date, four patients have received the cytotoxic agent based on Clavis' Lipid Vector Technology. The study, which has moved to the second dose level, will enroll patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and malignant melanomas, and be completed in the fourth quarter. The study's primary objectives are to define the maximum tolerated dose level and the dose-limiting toxicity, while secondary objectives are to show efficacy and to evaluate pharmacokinetics.

• CliniGenetics SA, of Paris, extended its partnership with the Catholic University of Louvain through an agreement with K.U. Leuven Research and Development. The agreement gives CliniGenetics exclusive rights to use K.U. Leuven's living-pig reference model, the minipig, for use in the cardiovascular disease field. The minipig model exhibits physiological and metabolic characteristics similar to those in humans, the companies said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Chadds Ford, Pa., a wholly owned subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., said the FDA accepted its new drug applications for its oxymorphone extended-release tablets (oxymorphone ER) and immediate-release tablets (oxymorphone IR). Endo submitted both applications late last year for the pain-treatment drugs. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 23, 2002.)

• Europroteome AG, of Hennigsdorf, Germany, entered a collaboration to apply its proteomics and bioinformatics technology to analyze blood samples from a Phase I trial studying the Ad-IFNg cancer immunotherapy product belonging to Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France. The collaboration is designed to locate blood-borne biomarkers that correlate with clinical outcome parameters such as response to therapy. Samples taken at different stages during the clinical trial will be analyzed in order to characterize protein patterns that could have predictive value for response to treatment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Evolva A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and DakoCytomation Norden A/S, of Glostrup, Denmark, entered an agreement to jointly pursue the application of DakoCytomation's MoFlo flow cytometry technology platform to Evolva's Watchmaker technology. If successful, the collaboration will enhance the utility of Watchmaker in drug optimization and open up a new application for flow cytometry in the pharmaceutical industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Gene Logic Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., said Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, renewed its subscription to the BioExpress System for multiple years. The BioExpress dataset includes gene expression information derived from a range of normal and diseased human tissue, animal and cell lines and detailed associated clinical annotations. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Incyte Genomics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., completed its acquisition of privately held Maxia Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego. The small-molecule drug discovery and development company will continue to operate in its present location as a wholly owned subsidiary of Incyte. Maxia will receive up to $28.3 million in cash and stock and up to $14 million in future clinical performance milestone payments. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 13, 2002.)

• Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, of Boca Raton, Fla., began enrollment in its Phase I/II trial of NicVAX (nicotine conjugate vaccine) in smokers, ex-smokers and nonsmokers. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, 30-patient trial, being conducted at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, is designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of NicVAX. Secondary endpoints include evaluating abstinence from smoking and the time it takes to relapse. All subjects will receive at least three immunizations of either NicVAX or placebo. A fourth immunization may be administered depending on initial results.

• Probiodrug AG, of Halle, Germany, concluded its dosing study of P93/01, its lead candidate to be developed for Type II diabetes. The product is a dipeptidyl peptidase IV-inhibitor molecule. Probiodrug focuses on medicine for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and other medical conditions.

• SIGA Technologies Inc., of New York, signed an agreement with Four Star Group to target and secure government contracts to continue its development of products to prevent and control smallpox infections and other biological agents, such as plague or anthrax. Four Star Group will bring SIGA's research to the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and other federal agencies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• The Immune Response Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., said data suggest sustained HIV-specific immune response among patients in an extended Phase II Remune trial held in Spain. The results of the trial were presented Feb. 12 at the 10th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections held in Boston. The results demonstrated that a cohort of patients who had received Remune plus antiretroviral therapy from the beginning of the trial maintained HIV-specific cellular immune responses through the 60-month extended treatment period.

• The Medicines Co., of Parsippany, N.J., reported publication of results from the REPLACE-2 trial in the Feb. 19, 2003, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, validating its Angiomax (bivalirudin) anticoagulant as a new standard of care for coronary angioplasty. Data demonstrated that an anticoagulant regimen built on Angiomax, with provisional use (7.2 percent of patients) of intravenous platelet blockers known as GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors is superior to heparin alone for both efficacy and safety. When the regimen built on Angiomax was compared to a study arm that included heparin plus GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors, the Angiomax arm was found to be as effective, easier to use, safer and less costly, the company said.

• The University of Alabama at Birmingham reported publication in the Jan. 24, 2003, issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology showing that its researchers discovered how the building blocks of HIV adjoin to form new virus in host cells. The university, which said the finding opens the door for new HIV therapies aimed at preventing the virus from developing and reproducing, said work has begun to construct a potential new drug design.

• Zengen Inc., of Woodland Hills, Calif., reported publication in the Feb. 20, 2003, issue of NeuroImmunoModulation of findings that a synthetic form of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) has an anti-inflammatory effect in celiac mucosa, the inside lining of the intestinal tract that absorbs food into the body. The discovery could lead to the first treatment for celiac disease, a hereditary digestive disease that can damage the small intestine and interfere with the absorption of nutrients from food. Data confirming the presence of alpha-MSH in celiac mucosa suggests the presence of a local reaction of the molecule to control the inflammatory response elicited by gliadin - the subfraction of gluten that acts as a toxin or poison in people with celiac disease.