• Benitec Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, received notification that an undisclosed party has filed an application to revoke a patent that it holds dating from 2003. The application was filed with the UK Intellectual Property Office through a UK-based patent law firm. Benitec said that the application is without merit and reflects the commercial value of the property.

• Edimer Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported that data analysis confirmed a consistent, quantifiable defect in sweat gland function as a disease biomarker in patients with X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED), a rare genetic disorder characterized by sparse hair, few and often pointed teeth, diminished or absent sweat function and recurrent respiratory infections in infancy. In a mixed cohort of male and female hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia patients, all 31 XLHED males, representing 25 different EDA mutations/deletions, demonstrated pilocarpine-stimulated sweat volumes (0-11 microliters) that did not overlap with the range of values obtained in age-matched control subjects (38-93 microliters). Specific EDA genotypes present in 60 percent of the XLHED male subjects were associated with a total absence of sweating, and the remaining subjects, even the two with normal sweat pore counts, had reduced sweat rates documented using the present technology. The data were reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Washington.

• Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., revealed in an 8-K filing that it is cutting 392 jobs in the first phase of a work force reduction plan that will eliminate 1,000 jobs by the end of 2011. Genzyme will incur $24 million to $27 million in charges in the fourth quarter related to the layoffs.

• Horizon Pharma Inc., of Northbrook, Ill., said its Swiss subsidiary entered exclusive distribution and supply agreements with Mundipharma International Corp. Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, for commercialization of Lodotra, a programmed-release formulation of low-dose prednisone, in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said in its third-quarter update that European partner Almirall SA, of Barcelona, Spain, will make a $20 million milestone payment to Ironwood based on positive results from a European Phase III trial of linaclotide for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. The drug has also achieved positive results in multiple U.S. trials, and approval filings in the U.S. and Europe are expected next year. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 3, 2010.)

Merz Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Greensboro, N.C., said results from studies designed to assess the stability of its cervical dystonia treatment Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), a botulinum toxin type A free from accessory proteins, and the 900 kDa neurotoxin complex, which is produced by Clostridium botulinum, concluded that the 150 kDa neurotoxin molecule was released in less than one minute when exposed to physiological pH values. In the study, separation conditions were qualified by Western blot and toxin activity. Results of a second stability study of three individual batches of Xeomin showed that the product can be safely stored without refrigeration and is not affected by short-term temperature stress between 40°C (104°F) and 60°C (140°F).

• Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, entered an agreement for strategic business reasons to sell back its co-promotion rights in the Nordic countries for Mimpara (cinacalcet), treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, to Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Under the deal, Swedish Orphan will receive an undisclosed payment from Amgen. No other terms were disclosed.