• Actelion Ltd., of Allschwil, Switzerland, said the Superior Court of the State of California granted its post-trial motion to offset a previous arbitration payment and applied a reduction of $70.35 million to the May jury award of $577 million due Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., of Tokyo. On procedural grounds, the court denied Actelion's post-trial motion for an election between damages for alleged lost profits and alleged development costs. Once judgment is entered, expected no sooner than Aug. 8, the firm said it will file new motions, as well as an appeal. The dispute stems from a licensing deal between Asahi and Brisbane, Calif.-based CoTherix Inc., which was terminated after Actelion's acquisition of CoTherix. (See BioWorld Today, May 3, 2011.)

• Errant Gene Therapeutics LLC, of Chicago, said it transferred its clinical-grade lentiviral vector, TNS 9.55.3, to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for use in an upcoming beta thalassemia trial. The trial protocol provides for the in vitro treatment of patients. Financial terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed, but the agreement calls for MSKCC to lead the clinical trials and to arrange for drug development partnerships in the areas of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease.

• Labopharm Inc., of Laval, Quebec, and Gruppo Angelini SpA, of Rome, agreed to restructure their joint venture partnership for Oleptro, terminating existing agreements, with Labopharm granting Angelini an exclusive license and rights to the depression drug in the U.S., Canada and other countries in exchange for a royalty on product sales. Under the new terms, Labopharm will receive a 5 percent royalty on net sales of Oleptro in the U.S. in excess of $10 million in any calendar quarter. Net sales of the drug for the three months ending March 31 totaled $908,000. Labopharm, which currently is evaluating strategic options, reduced its work force by a further 23 positions earlier this month.

• Sirona Biochem Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said it identified a depigmenting agent for use as a skin lightener in creams and other cosmetics products. That program stems from the carbohydrate chemistry platform acquired in the buyout of TFChem SAS, of Rouen, France, earlier this year.

• Sorrento Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support the generation and development of antibody therapeutics and vaccines against Clostridium difficile infections by disrupting quorum sensing, a bacterial communication process believed to control virulence. The grant is for $300,000 per year for two years, with the possibility of Phase II funding of $1 million per year for up to an additional three years.

• Yaupon Therapeutics Inc., of Malvern, Pa., submitted a new drug application for its gel formulation of mechlorethamine hydrochloride for treating early stage (Stages I-IIA) mycosis fungoides, a type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Mechlorethamine, a chemotherapeutic agent, already is used intravenously for CTCL, but Yaupon's formulation would be the first topical gel. The product has been granted both fast-track and orphan status by the FDA.