• Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said they will work with NASA's Ames Research Center to conduct a preclinical test of a sclerostin antibody in an experiment to take place aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the final shuttle mission, Space Shuttle Flight STS-135, scheduled to launch July 8. The experiment is designed to assess the effect of a sclerostin antibody on the loss of bone associated with space flight in mice.

• Apricus Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, sold wholly owned subsidiary Bio-Quant Inc., a specialty biotech contract research organization, to BioTox Sciences, a San Diego-based CRO. Apricus Bio will receive a minimum of $5 million in up-front and future earn-out payments, with the potential for as much as $20 million over the next 10 years, based on BioTox's currently projected revenues. Apricus Bio retained NexMed-related research conducted by Bio-Quant as well as the Bio-Quant diagnostic kit business.

• Cambrex Corp., of East Rutherford, N.J., and Tillotts Pharma AG, of Rheinfelden, Switzerland, entered a development and commercialization agreement for a mesalamine-based (5-ASA) technology for use in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Tillotts acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize products based on Cambrex' proprietary 5-ASA-based technology in exchange for undisclosed developmental, regulatory and IP milestone payments as well as royalties from sales. Cambrex had previously acquired exclusive rights to the technology from PLx Pharma Inc., of Houston.

• Capstone Therapeutics, of Tempe, Ariz., reported preclinical data showing that AZX100 in a rodent model of radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis demonstrated a significant decrease in apoptosis among all cell types when given for 28 days compared to untreated lungs (p = 0.00058). Data also showed that AZX100 treatment produced a significant decrease in apoptotic epithelial cells (p = 0.003), which translated to a greater than 70 percent decrease in apoptotic epithelial cell count compared to the untreated cohort. AZX100 is a synthetic 24-amino acid peptide.

• Enzo Biochem Inc., of New York, reported that scientists from its Enzo Therapeutics group identified a new target on a key modulator of the Wnt system that allows for development of novel antibodies for the modulation of pathways. In addition, the scientists identified a peptide that can accomplish that modulation without the need for antibodies. The discovery could raise the possibility for the development of a new class of therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, metabolic disorders and other diseases, according to the company. The findings were presented at a podium session at the WNT 2011 conference in Los Angeles on June 30.

• Metabolic Solutions Development Co., of Kalamazoo, Mich., received a $773,000 grant from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation for a pilot Phase IIa study of MSDC-0160, its compound aimed at treating metabolic diseases associated with altered mitochondrial function. Designed as an insulin sensitizer, MSDC-0160 will be tested to determine if it affects glucose utilization in specific regions of the brain. The company said growing evidence suggests that loss of mitochondrial function and decline in brain glucose metabolism could be a contributing cause of Alzheimer's.

• NeuroSearch A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, signed a deal to sell its 30. 1 percent stake in Sophion Bioscience A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, to Biolin Scientific AB, a subsidiary of Ratos AB, of Stockholm, Sweden. All other shareholders in Sophion also agreed to sell their ownership shares. The sales price is DKK155 million (US$29.7 million), of which DKK10 million depend on sales milestones in 2011-2012. The sale is expected to be finalized in the third quarter. NeuroSearch founded Sophion in 2000 as a spinout of an in-house technology project. Under the terms, NeuroSearch expects proceeds of about DKK40 million.

• Pharmasset Inc., of Princeton, N.J., inked a collaboration with Johnson & Johnson unit Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Raritan, N.J., to evaluate its nucleotide polymerase inhibitor PSI-7977 in combination with Tibotec's protease inhibitor TMC435 in a Phase II study in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study is designed to test the combo regimen's ability to achieve sustained virologic response 12 weeks post-treatment without the addition of an interferon-based regimen. The study is slated to start in the second half of this year. In separate news, Tibotec's partner, Medivir AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, reported that TMC435 received fast-track status in the U.S. in HCV.

• Shenzhen Relin Medicine, of Shenzhen, China, and MingSight Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, formed a joint venture to develop and commercialize a treatment for diabetic eye disease in China. The JV, designated Jiangsu MingSight-Relin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., will focus on developing MS-553, an oral therapy previously developed by New York-based Pfizer Inc. and later licensed to MingSight. The JV will be managed by a joint leadership team. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. (See BioWorld Today, June 15, 2011.)

• Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Lexington, Mass., reported results showing that ganetespib (STA-9090), a heat-shock protein 90 inhibitor, was more potent than 17-AAG and was synergistic with doxorubicin in a model of small-cell lung cancer. Data were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

• Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said the National Comprehensive Cancer Network awarded a grant to Herb Hurwitz, associate professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute, to evaluate the company's hypoxia-activated prodrug, TH-302. The Duke Cancer Institute expects to begin a Phase I trial during the fourth quarter to evaluate the safety and preliminary activity of TH-302 in combination with pazopanib (Votrient) in advanced solid tumors. In March, the company raised $30 million in a registered direct offering to advance clinical trials for TH-302. (See BioWorld Today, March 14, 2011.)

• Wellstat Therapeutics Corp., of Gaithersburg, Md., said it granted U.S. marketing rights for uridine triacetate to BTG International Inc., of London, for use as a potential treatment for accidental overexposure to chemotherapy drug fluorouracil (5-FU) due to dosing errors or impaired clearance from the body. Wellstat retains commercialization rights for 5-FU overexposure outside the U.S. and for all other potential uses of uridine triacetate. Specific financial terms were not disclosed, but BTG will get exclusive rights to market and sell the drug in the U.S. for up to 10 years after marketing approval in exchange for an up-front payment, milestone payments, transfer pricing payments based on manufacturing costs and a significant percentage of net sales.