• Aeterna Zentaris Inc., of Quebec City, said an article published in the May 2012 issue or PLoS ONE described the mechanism of the firm's cancer compound perifosine, which could provide a rationale for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MMe). Data demonstrated that perifosine caused a dose-dependent reduction of Akt activation at concentrations causing MMe cell growth arrest, and it also demonstrated a significant increase in cell toxicity when MMe cells were treated with perifosine in combination with cisplatin.

• iCo Therapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said it received a $1.1 million nonrepayable financial contribution from the National Research Council of Canada to support its oral Amphotericin B (Amp B) delivery system as a treatment for patients with HIV. The funding will support feasibility testing and preclinical toxicology studies, as well as human safety and efficacy trials designed to examine the role of the Amp B system in potentially treating patients with latent HIV reservoirs.

• Karo Bio AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, said it is carrying out the second phase of its efficiency program, reducing the number of employees by 10 to 44. The firm has been restructuring after terminating lead program eprotirome, which had been in pivotal studies when a toxicology report showed that long-term exposure could result in cartilage damage. Karo Bio shelved plans to spin out its preclinical operations, which have now become the company's main focus. Part of its research activities are funded through a recent agreement with New York-based Pfizer Inc., and the firm said it aims to ink more agreements of that type. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 15, 2012.)

• Medigene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said genital warts treatment Veregen obtained market approval in Serbia. The drug will be launched there in the second half of this year.

• QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said its board affirmed its commitments to return $75 million to $100 million in capital to shareholders. It will continue a dialogue with shareholders to determine whether the return will happen via a one-time cash dividend or through a modified Dutch auction tender offer.

• R-Tech Ueno, of Tokyo, said it was notified by the International Court of Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce, that the anticipated date of the arbitration decision was extended from May 31 to June 29. R-Tech, together with Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, Md., requested arbitration against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, claiming that Takeda violated provisions of the October 2004 collaboration agreement between Sucampo and Takeda. R-Tech supplies Sucampo's Amitiza (lubiprostone) capsules to Takeda.

• Tengion Inc., of Winston-Salem, N.C., said its board approved a 1-for-10 reverse stock split aimed at allowing the regenerative medicine company to regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement to maintain its Nasdaq listing. The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis June 14.