Aradigm Corp., of Hayward, Calif., signed a development agreement with the University of California at San Francisco to begin a new series of experiments evaluating the applicability of Aradigm's AERx Pulmonary Drug Delivery System for delivering non-viral gene vectors by inhalation.
Axonyx Inc., of New York, disclosed findings that indicate a specific species of acetylcholinesterase is a useful biomarker in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Preclinical data found that a form of acetylcholinesterase is specifically elevated in the frontal cortex of the brain and in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer's disease patients. The company also found that selective butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors are a promising new strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Butyrylcholinesterase is shown to be elevated in the brains of patients afflicted with the disease.
Cambridge Discovery Chemistry, of Cambridge, UK, said it successfully completed the first phase of an agreement in medicinal chemistry with AstraZeneca plc, of London. In the second and third phases of the project, Cambridge Discovery will design and optimize compound libraries of increasing sizes against targets selected by AstraZeneca. In return, the company will receive ongoing fees and milestone payments. Cambridge Discovery is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford Molecular Group plc.
CV Therapeutics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., received a $6.5 million milestone payment, consisting of $2 million in cash and a $4.5 million line of credit, from partner Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. The payment was made in connection with the recently completed Phase II trial of CVT-124, an adenosine A1 receptor antagonist, and Biogen's decision to continue with the adenosine A1 receptor antagonist program. Under a license from CV Therapeutics, Biogen is developing the antagonists for the potential treatment of congestive heart failure.
Epoch Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redmond, Wash., said it raised $9.5 million in cash from the exercise of warrants, which resulted in the issuance of 3.8 million shares of Epoch's common stock. The company has cash and equivalents of $20 million, which Epoch believes will provide operating capital through the next three years.
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said clinical studies indicate that as patients progress from HIV to AIDS, their immune systems become increasingly dysregulated, and that HE2000 has potential to correct this dysregulation by producing a shift in the patients' immune status from one favoring an ineffective humoral response to one favoring a more appropriate cell-mediated response. Data are from Hollis-Eden's first two cohorts of HIV patients treated with 50 mg and 100 mg doses of HE2000 in a South African Phase I/II trial. HE2000 has been generally well tolerated, with pain and swelling at the injection sites representing the most common side effects, the company said.
Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said Phase I trials of its IPL576,092, its new oral asthma therapy under development with Aventis Pharma, showed positive results. Studies showed it was safe and well tolerated, and the company plans to initiate Phase IIa studies in the middle of the year.
Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., said it discovered seven naturally occurring aminosterols, several of which are biologically active. One of the new compounds has been shown to induce profound appetite suppression and weight loss in animals. Other compounds have potential clinical applications in the treatment of asthma. The discovery is reported in the Journal of Natural Products.
Periodontix Inc., of Watertown, Mass., said a Phase I study evaluating the local delivery of silver ions via a bioresorbable wafer for the treatment of periodontitis demonstrated that concentrations of silver 50 times greater than the mean bactericidal concentrations could be maintained in the periodontal pocket for at least 21 days. It also showed that the delivery of silver led to a significant decrease in the anaerobic pathogens associated with the disease.
PharmaSeq, of Monmouth Junction, N.J., said it developed and successfully demonstrated a fully functional electronic microchip for use in tracking and tagging molecules in DNA and drug-related applications.
Protein Design Labs Inc., of Fremont, Calif., entered into a patent rights agreement with Tanox Inc., of Houston, covering certain PDL intellectual property in the field of humanized monoclonal antibodies. Tanox will pay a $2.5 million up-front fee for rights to obtain non-exclusive worldwide licenses under PDL's antibody humanization patents for up to four Tanox antibodies. Upon exercise of a license for a particular antibody, Tanox will pay PDL an additional license fee, annual maintenance fees and royalties on potential sales of the licensed antibody.
SangStat Medical Corp., of Fremont, Calif., said SangCya Oral Solution (cyclosporine) was approved in Germany via the European Community Mutual Recognition Procedure for obtaining regulatory approval in multiple member states. The company intends to launch the solution in Germany in June.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., entered into an agreement with Harvard Medical School to accelerate small-molecule drug discovery using genomic and proteomic information from Harvard's Institute of Proteomics. Vertex plans to use the information as part of its chemogenomics discovery effort, which seeks to design multiple drugs in parallel based on structurally similar targets in gene families. Financial terms were not disclosed.