* Alanex Corp., of San Diego, and ICOS Corp., of Bothell, Wash., will collaborate on the discovery of small molecule drugs for an undisclosed target. Alanex, a combinatorial chemistry company, was recently acquired by Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of La Jolla, Calif.

* Biosource Technologies Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Disease to develop melanin as an anti-inflammatory compound. Melanin is a natural pigment shown to inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines involved in the progression of diseases such as cachexia and arthritis.

* Cypros Pharmaceutical Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., will present results from two preclinical drug studies at conferences in June and October. The company's adenosine metabolism inhibitor and its neuronal calcium channel blocker program have produced patent filings and compounds with potential for clinical trials, the company said.

* CytRx Corp., of Atlanta, has begun a new study to evaluate CRL-5861, the purified form of RheothRx (poloxamer 188), in sickle cell patients suffering from acute vaso-occlusive crisis. Initiation of these studies represents the restart of the clinical development of RheothRx.

* Researchers at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Diabetes Institutes report discovery a new gene that appears to be critical to the regeneration of insulin-producing cells. Dubbed INGAP (for islet neogenesis associated protein), the gene helped regenerate animal islet cells -- the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas and regulate its production to meet the body's demands. The study is described in the May 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

* Genta Inc., of San Diego, has prevailed in a Delaware court battle against a group of preferred stockholders who challenged Aries Funds' $3 million investment in the company. The court ruled that the company's director acted in "good faith" and did not "breach a fiduciary duty owed to the corporation or any of its equity security holders."

* Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., has received marketing authorization for Vistide (cidofovir injection) from the European Commission, which allows the product to be marketed in all 15 countries of the European Union as an intravenous treatment for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with AIDS.

* Hybridon Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and the Institute of Human Virology, of the University of Maryland, in Baltimore, have signed a five-year research collaboration that covers a continuation of the development of oligonucleotide-based antisense therapies targeting HIV and AIDS, with an expansion into chemokine receptors as cofactors of infection and into human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in immunocompromised patients.

* ImClone Systems Inc., of New York, will receive two milestone payments totaling $1 million from Abbot Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., as a result of a patent issuance in Europe for the company's Repair Chain Reaction (RCR) DNA probe technology. The issuance of this patent also initiates royalty payments on sales in covered European countries for products using RCR technology. Developed by ImClone, RCR is a highly effective in vitro DNA diagnostic approach that allows amplification and detection of DNA targets such as infectious disease pathogens and cancer genes in a rapid, highly sensitive and specific manner.

* Immunomedics Inc., of Morris Plains, N.J., has filed an application with the FDA to begin clinical evaluation of the safety and efficacy of its humanized lymphoma antibody, LymphoCide. The Phase I dose-escalating study will use a re-engineered antibody consisting of murine-binding sites linked to human immunoglobulin backbone, making the molecule more than 95 percent human in structure.

* LXR Biotechnology Inc., of Richmond, Calif., has completed Phase I trials for Lexirin, a patented compound designed to treat AIDS-related diarrhea and the first investigational drug to be discovered based upon apoptosis modulation activity. Thirty-three HIV-positive patients were enrolled in the trial and received Lexirin three times a day for 28 days and follow-up care for an additional 28 days. Preliminary observations suggest the drug was well tolerated.

* Maxim Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, has initiated a clinical trial of Maxamine for the treatment of hepatitis C, during which the company expects to treat up to 15 hepatitis C patients with a combination of Maxamine and interferon-alpha (IFN-a ) twice daily for up to four months. Response will be measured through an evaluation of specific liver function tests and viral burden. The objective of the study, which will be held in Sweden, is to determine if the administration of Maxamine as an adjunct to IFN-a can demonstrate clinically significant responses among previously IFN-a-resistant hepatitis C patients.

* Perseptive Biosystems Inc., of Framingham, Mass., has opened a $13.5 million lab and manufacturing plant in Hamburg, Germany. According to the company, the facility is the largest of its kind in the world and is capable of annually producing more than 30,000 kg of nucleotide synthons -- a key ingredient in experimental oligonucleotide-based drugs that have been touted as possible treatments for genetic and viral diseases.

* Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, has begun a second Phase I trial of tgDCC-E1A, an E1A tumor-suppressor gene product that utilizes the company's proprietary lipid-based gene delivery system. The trial will determine dosing and evaluate levels of gene transfer and tumor response in patients with solid tumors. The company's initial Phase I study, expected to be completed this year, is testing tgDCC-E1A in breast and ovarian cancer patients.

* U.S. Bioscience Inc., of West Conshohocken, Pa., has won a $2 million contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study the shelf life of drugs under development for cancer and AIDS. The term is three years, with two one-year extension options. Results will be used to determine proper storage and handling of various drugs under investigation and to support NCI's investigational new drug applications.