• Biovest International Inc., of Tampa, Fla., a subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Inc., said it notified the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of its intent to file a marketing authorization application seeking approval in the European Union (EU) for BiovaxID, its personalized cancer vaccine in follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Under the EMA's centralized procedure, the application will be assessed by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for potential approval in all EU member countries. The company said it also plans to meet with the FDA to define the path for U.S. registration.

• Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, said it is re-aligning its resources and re-prioritizing its pipeline to focus on the launch of Pixuvri (pixantrone) in the European Union and to accelerate advancement of blood cancer drug pacritinib into Phase III trials in the fourth quarter. The company's burn rate will be reduced by more than 30 percent, from $6.5 million per month to an average of $4.5 million per month. Pixuvri received conditional approval in May for use in Europe as a monotherapy to treat adult patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

• InterMune Inc., of Brisbane, Calif., completed its sale of rights to Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) to Vidara Therapeutics International Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland, for $55 million. InterMune is eligible to receive a two-year royalty stream based on Actimmune's net sales, which is expected to amount to about $2 million to $4 million. The company expects the sale to provide it with flexibility as it launches Esbriet (pirfenidone) in Europe for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and continues development in the U.S. and other countries.(See BioWorld Today, May 23, 2012.)

• Liquidia Technologies, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., granted exclusive rights to GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, to research and develop certain vaccine and inhaled product candidates using PRINT (particle replication in non-wetting templates) technology. Liquidia will receive a cash and equity up-front payment, research and development funding and is entitled to additional licensing fees, development milestones and royalties. The total value is up to "several hundred million dollars" (> $100 million), the company stated in a press release. Liquidia retained its rights to develop certain respiratory and vaccine products, and to use the PRINT platform to develop products in other therapeutic areas.

• MicroDose Therapeutics Inc., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., and Moerae Matrix Inc., of Morristown, N.J., signed a collaboration to develop a dry-powder inhalation product of Moerae's novel MK2 inhibitor, MMI-0100, to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The agreement involves the development and supply of a pulmonary drug delivery system for Moerae using MicroDose's inhaler technology in support of chronic administration. MMI-0100 is a selective inhibitor of MAPKAP kinase 2.

• Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., of Novato, Calif., acquired exclusive rights to intellectual property related to cysteamine and related compounds in the potential treatment of Parkinson's diseases from Universite Laval, of Quebec. Laval researchers have shown that administration of an oxidized form of cysteamine in a Parkinson's disease animal model showed signs of preventing neuron loss and rescuing neurons undergoing a degenerative process. Raptor is currently conducting a Phase II/III trial in France of delayed-release cysteamine bitartrate capsules to treat Huntington's disease.

• Sirona Biochem Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, reported results from a preclinical study of SBM-TFC-039 in monkeys indicating oral administration of the sodium glucose transporter (SGLT) inhibitor reduced glucose in the urine in a dose-dependent manner. The company said the effect was robust for the full 24 hours studied. SBM-TFC-039, under development in Type II diabetes, previously demonstrated a consistent glucose-lowering effect in a rodent diabetic model.

• Sistemic Ltd., of Boston, formed an agreement allowing Cytori Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, to use the SistemQC technology platform in its U.S. cardiac cell therapy trial to molecularly characterize adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells. Cytori intends to use the platform within its Celution System's autologous heterogeneous population of ADCRs to understand which ones are the greatest contributors to efficacy.

• ZoBio, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and CellCentric, of Cambridge, UK, are working together to discover lead compounds against CellCentric's portfolio of epigenetic therapeutic drug targets. ZoBio is using its TINS technology to screen its fragment library against targets nominated by CellCentric. Hit to lead and lead optimization activities will be supported by ZoBio's biophysical and medicinal chemistry research services.