• Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Servier SA, of Suresnes, France, disclosed the early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 in connection with the cardiovascular product collaboration agreement made public on July 8 completing the transaction.

• Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Atlanta, completed a successful pre-investigational new drug application meeting with the FDA on a single-component, immediate-release, abuse-deterrent hydrocodone (ATLP-03).

• Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., entered an exclusive, multi-year agreement to co-promote Merck's Type II diabetes therapies Januvia (sitagliptin) and the sitagliptin family of products in the long-term care institutional setting in the U.S. Terms were not disclosed.

• CSL Behring, of King of Prussia, Pa., said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a new technology add-on payment for Kcentra (prothrombin complex concentrate [human]) for use in the inpatient hospital setting for the urgent reversal of warfarin therapy in adult patients with acute major bleeding. Kcentra, a non-activated 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate, was approved by the FDA in April in the indication. Beginning Oct. 1 and continuing for at least two years, CMS will reimburse hospitals an additional amount, up to $1,587.50, for cases involving Kcentra that exceed the MS-DRG payment amount.

• Gencia Corp., of Charlottesville, Va., is collaborating with the Myelin Repair Foundation, which will partner with Gencia to assess the myelin regenerating capabilities of the company's proprietary therapeutic compounds for multiple sclerosis. Further terms were not disclosed.

• Shareholders of Maxygen Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., voted to approve liquidation and dissolution of the company. The company's board approved an initial liquidating distribution of $2.50 per share of Maxygen's common stock. Subject to uncertainties inherent in the winding up of its business, Maxygen may make one or more additional liquidating distributions, which could total as much as $0.09 per share, as the company's required contingency reserves may be released over time. Maxygen intends to file a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State and to close its stock transfer books and discontinue recording transfers of its common stock as of the close of business on Aug. 29 payment date for the initial liquidating distribution. Maxygen also submitted a request to Nasdaq to suspend trading of its common stock.

• Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development has granted two separate orphan drug designations for its bispecific antibody, MM-111 , for the treatment of esophageal cancer and for the treatment of gastric as well as gastroesophageal junction cancers.

• Prismic Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Epitech Group SRL, of Milan, Italy, giving Prismic rights to Epitech's entire product range, including Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) for all conditions and, perhaps more importantly, all regulatory categories for inflammatory and pain conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Sophiris Bio Inc., of San Diego, announced a 52-for-1 consolidation of its common shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, effective Aug. 9. The purpose of the consolidation is to increase the share price to meet the minimum share price requirements for a potential listing on Nasdaq.

• Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Marlborough, Mass., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, signed a partnership agreement to use the enhanced spine platform developed by Afraxis Inc., of San Diego, to accelerate Sunovion's preclinical central nervous system drug discovery process. Afraxis is eligible for milestone payments for each compound developed through initiation of Phase II studies. Additional terms were not disclosed.

• Update Pharma Inc., of Reno, Nev., said it plans to redevelop UPI-928, a small molecule that was shelved by an undisclosed pharmaceutical company following extensive clinical development in the 1980s, in acute myeloid leukemia. An anthracene with a structure related to anthracyclines, UPI-928 lacks the dose-limiting cardiotoxicity that has historically limited the use of these drugs, according to the company. Because UPI-928 has shown a clinical activity profile similar to anthracyclines, however, the compound offers broad potential utility in the clinic. The company filed for patent protection on UPI-928 based upon new mechanisms of action, new formulations and methods of use that include combinatorial regimens and plans to provide additional details during an oral presentation at the World Conference on Cancer Science and Therapy on Oct. 21 in San Francisco.