• Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., said it received fast-track status from the FDA for ACH-3102, a pan-genotypic second-generation NS5A inhibitor, as part of an interferon-free regimen in hepatitis C virus. The drug currently is in Phase I testing.

• Cardium Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, said it signed a deal with UK-based Angel Biomedical Ltd., a subsidiary of contract manufacturer Angel Biotechnology Holdings plc, for the manufacture of formulated collagen for Cardium's Excellagen product, a high-molecular weight fibrillar bovine Type I topical gel recently cleared for marketing by the FDA as an adjunct to debridement for the management of diabetic foot ulcers and other dermal wounds. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, disclosed a 7 to 1 reverse split of common stock, and shares will begin trading Wednesday on a split-adjusted basis. The split will reduce the number of outstanding shares of common stock from about 149.1 million to about 21.3 million, with the purpose of raising the per-share trading price to regain compliance with the $1 minimum listing requirement.

• Debiopharm Group, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Vifor Pharma AG, of Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland, said they signed an exclusive deal covering the distribution and commercialization in Switzerland of the one-month, three-month and six-month formulations of Pamorelin LA and of the three-month formulation of Salvacyl. Financial terms were not disclosed. Pamorelin LA, which contains the active substance triptorelin, is indicated for advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer, endometriosis and female infertility. Salvacyl is indicated for severe sexual deviation in men.

• Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Morrisville, N.C., and Menarini Group, of Florence, Italy, said they entered a license deal giving Menarini rights to commercialize Priligy in Europe, most of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, while Furiex will retain full development and commercialization rights in the U.S., Japan and Canada. Priligy is marketed for on-demand treatment of premature ejaculation in 15 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, while it is approved for that indication in 43 countries worldwide. Under the terms, Furiex will be eligible to receive a $15 million payment upon closing, up to $20 million in regulatory and launch milestones and up to $40 million in sales-related milestones, plus tiered royalties on product sales ranging from mid-teens to mid-20s in percentage terms.

• International Stem Cell Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., reported data from preclinical programs, showing in vivo that the application of A9 dopaminergic neurons derived from human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC) could be used to develop a treatment for Parkinson's disease. Additional data showed the differentiation of hpSC and embryonic stem cells into cornea-like constructs for use in transplantation and the in vitro study of ocular drug absorption, as well as in vivo and in vitro characterization of immature hepatocyte derived from hpSC.

• KineMed Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., said it inked a collaboration with not-for-profit research organization CHDI Foundation Inc., of New York, to use KineMed's isotopic labeling and dynamic proteomics platform to investigate the turnover rates of huntingtin protein, a mutant form of which plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease.

• Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, and UK drug discovery group SEEK said they entered a new agreement for the U.S. marketing rights to non-opioid, non-narcotic treatments for persistent cough. SEEK and Pernix revised the existing commercialization agreement, terminating their joint venture, for BC1036 to enable it to be brought more rapidly to market in the U.S. and Europe. Under the terms, Pernix will be responsible for the development and launch of the products in the areas of cough, cold, sinus and allergy in the U.S. and Canada, while SEEK will have rights to commercialize the products in the rest of the world. Specific financial terms were not disclosed, but Pernix will pay SEEK up-front payments, milestones and royalties for its territories, and SEEK will pay royalties to Pernix from sales in its territories.

• Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., of Haifa, Israel, said cardiac function in a diabetic-induced diastolic dysfunction in animals improved following PLacental eXpanded (PLX cells) administration. Diabetes was induced in 36 C57/b/6 mice, which resulted in the development of diastolic heart failure, and animals received either PLX cells from two separate batches or placebo after seven days. Data showed that, after 21 days, cardiac injection fraction improved 19 percent, the left ventricular relaxation time constant decreased 16 percent and the stiffness of the ventricle decreased 19 percent following treatment with PLX cells. Administration of either batch of PLX cells also resulted in a significant anti-inflammatory effect.

• ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said it received a $4.2 million follow-on purchase order pursuant to its ongoing long-term supply agreement with an undisclosed global pharmaceutical firm. The recent order relates to the purchase of a Mimetic Ligand affinity adsorbent.

• Scil Proteins GmbH, of Halle, Germany, said it signed a collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for the joint discovery and development of Affilin therapeutics to treat various diseases. Initially, Scil will identify and select Affilin molecules directed against certain targets provided by Ono. Specific financial terms were not disclosed, but Scil is eligible for research funding, milestone payments and royalties.