• Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., received FDA approval for a new six-month formulation of Lupron Depot (leuprolide acetate for depot suspension) for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer. In a 48-week, open-label study involving 151 patients with prostate cancer, the 45-mg formulation sustained testosterone suppression throughout the treatment period and was consistent with other Lupron Depot formulations. The new formulation is expected to be available late this month.

• Benitec Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said independent research published in Human Gene Therapy showed that using a form of Benitec's gene silencing technology in a rat model, researchers silenced a key gene associated with pain and achieved a significant reduction in pain without side effects.

• Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., achieved a milestone in its alliance with London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc for its HIV protease inhibitor development program, resulting in a $4 million payment to Concert under the 2009 agreement. The companies selected lead compound CTP-298 as the deuterium-modified version of atazanavir for further development, with clinical trials slated for next year. (See BioWorld Today, June 3, 2009.)

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, entered a Captisol supply agreement with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. for an undisclosed program. Specific financial terms were not disclosed, but Ligand will supply clinical and commercial supplies of Captisol and, if the program is approved for commercialization, expects to deliver multiple metric tons annually. Captisol is a chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs.

• Pfizer Inc., of New York, and Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palatine, Ill., received FDA approval of Oxecta (oxycodone HCl, USP) tablets for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain where the use of an opioid analgesic is appropriate. Oxecta is an immediate-release version that is designed to discourage common methods of tampering associated with opioid abuse and misuse.

• Prometheus Laboratories Inc., of San Diego, will defend its method patents in the Supreme Court for calibrating the proper dosage of thiopurine drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases. The court agreed Monday to hear Mayo Collective Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. The first time the case came before the high court, the justices sent it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with instructions to reconsider it in light of the Bilski v. Kappos ruling. The Federal Circuit maintained that Prometheus' personalized medicine-type claims are patent-eligible. (See BioWorld Today, July 6, 2010, and June 29, 2010.)

• Theratechnologies Inc., of Montreal, filed a new drug submission in Canada for Egrifta (tesamorelin), an analogue of the growth hormone-releasing factor, for treating excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy. The drug gained U.S. approval last year. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 12, 2010.)