• Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., said it plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, dividing out its research-based pharmaceuticals business, which will include its current portfolio of pharmaceuticals and biologics, into a new company to be named later. That company will focus on select specialty products in the areas of immunology, multiple sclerosis, chronic kidney disease, hepatitis C, women's health and oncology. Retaining Abbott's name will be the firm's diversified medical products company, which includes branded generic pharmaceuticals, devices, diagnostics and its nutritional business. The transaction is intended to take the form of a tax-free distribution to Abbott shareholders of a new publicly traded stock for the new pharmaceutical company. It is not expected to affect Abbott's earnings-per-share guidance for 2011. Shares of Abbott (NYSE:ABT) closed Wednesday at $53.25, up 81 cents.

• Arsanis Biosciences GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, is receiving a four-year grant for the development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics against nosocomial infections. The Austrian Research Promotion Agency grant will provide more than $1.6 million the first year. In the following three years, additional funding of up to 70 percent of the total program budget of more than $17 million is expected. The grant will support discovery activities of several antibody projects and the preclinical and early clinical development of one lead program, according to Arsanis. The biotech received $10 million in funding last year from a syndicate of three U.S.-based venture capitalists. (See BioWorld Today, March, 7, 2011.)

• Cytokinetics Inc., of South San Francisco, said it will restructure its work force and operations to focus resources primarily on the development of its later-stage development programs, CK-2017357 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and omecamtiv mecarbil, a cardiac muscle compound partnered with Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Cytokinetics is reducing its work force by 18 percent, to 83 employees, and expects to incur restructuring charges of approximately $1.3 million in the fourth quarter related to severance, employee benefit continuation and career transition assistance to employees affected by the restructuring. In 2009, Cytokinetics ended a cancer partnering deal with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, to focus on its muscle biology programs. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 11, 2009.)

• Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., presented data from two scientific studies of its aerosolized KL4 surfactant program at the European Society for Paediatric Research meeting. A dose-response study of the synthetic, peptide-containing surfactant in a pre-term lamb model of respiratory distress syndrome found that, compared with continuous positive airway pressure alone, the aerosolized KL4 surfactant reduced levels of inflammatory mediators in the lung and improved gas exchange, pulmonary mechanics and lung structure integrity. The second study, in piglets with HC1 induced acute lung injury, showed significant improvement in oxygenation response and overall surivial.

• The EUROCALIN Consortium (EUROpean Consortium for AntiCALINS as next generation high-affinity protein therapeutics), which comprises 10 companies and universities from across Europe, initiated a collaboration to develop, manufacture and clinically test an Anticalin specific for hepcidin – a small peptide circulating in human blood considered an important target for the treatment of multiple types of anemia. The candidate is in preclinical development at Pieris AG, of Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany. The project will be funded primarily by the European Commission Seventh Framework Program.

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, inked a license agreement with Third Rock Ventures LLC start-up Sage Therapeutics Inc., of Boston, for the development and commercialization of Captisol-enabled therapeutics for central nervous system conditions. Ligand will receive up-front and research support payments, as well as potential milestone payments for Captisol-enabled programs and royalties on net sales of products that use the Captisol technology. Other terms were not disclosed. Captisol is a chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs. Sage was launched this month with a $35 million Series A to develop therapies for schizophrenia, depression, pain and traumatic brain injury based on modulating GABA and glutamate neurotransmitters using its positive and negative allosteric modulator chemistry platform. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 18, 2011.)

• Marina Biotech Inc., of Bothell, Wash., reported in vivo dose-dependent efficacy with a CRN-substituted miRNA antagonist, or antagomir, against microRNA-122 (miR-122). The efficacy in a rodent model was demonstrated by up to a fivefold increase in AldoA, a downstream gene regulated by miR-122. The antagomir was well tolerated in rodents. Establishing proof-of-concept data will enable Marina to use its CRN technology for both single-stranded and double-stranded oligonucleotide-based therapeutic applications.

• Metabolic Solutions Development Co., of Kalamazoo, Mich., said it received a $1.1 million multiyear Small Business Technology Transfer Program grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to further evaluate MSDC-0602, an insulin sensitizer selective to mTOT, in animal models of fatty liver disease. MSDC-0602 has been tested in clinical studies in Type II diabetes.

• Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Watertown, Mass., said the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded it a contract worth up to $36 million for the development of TP-271, an antibiotic for respiratory disease caused by bacterial biothreats and antibiotic-resistant public health pathogens. The award covers development, manufacturing and clinical activities to position the drug for further development against agents such as Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis and Bacillus anthracis, as well as bacterial pathogens associated with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. The contract includes a 25-month base period with committed funding of nearly $6 million, followed by subsequent option periods. Tetraphase will work on the contract as a subcontractor to Buffalo, N.Y.-based Cubrc Inc.

• Theratechnologies Inc., of Montreal, said an affiliate of partner Sanofi SA, of Paris, submitted a marketing authorization application for Egrifta (tesamorelin) in Mexico with the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk. Tesamorelin is designed to reduce excess visceral fat in HIV-infected adult patients suffering from lipodystrophy with lipohypertrophy of the visceral adipose tissue. Last year, Theratechnologies inked a distribution and licensing agreement with Sanofi for exclusive commercialization rights for tesamorelin for the treatment of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 7, 2010.)

• ThromboGenics NV, of Leuven, Belgium, said the European Medicines Agency accepted for review the marketing authorization application for ocriplasmin (2.5 mg/ml, solution for injection) in symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion including macular hole. A biologics license application is expected to be filed with the FDA by the end of 2011. Ocriplasmin, a truncated form of the serine protease plasmin, met its endpoints in clinical testing, showing that the drug improved visual acuity over placebo. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 24, 2011.)