• Biogen Idec Inc., of Weston, Mass., said it completed the purchase of Dublin, Ireland-based Elan Corp. plc's interest in Tysabri (natalizumab) and has gained full strategic, commercial and decision-making rights to the multiple sclerosis drug. The firms disclosed the $3.25 billion deal, which includes contingent payments, in February. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 7, 2013.)

• DARA BioSciences Inc., of Raleigh, N.C., said it signed a deal with Prime Therapeutics Specialty Pharmacy LLC for distribution of its two lead products, Gelclair (oral bioadhesive gel) for patients with oral mucositis and Soltamax (tamoxifen citrate) oral solution to treat breast cancer patients. Terms were not disclosed.

• DFH Pharma Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., said it entered a research and product development agreement with Hetero Group, a research-based pharmaceutical group headquartered in Hyderabad, India, to develop next-generation HIV maturation inhibitor drugs. Maturation inhibitors are designed to block virus replication by interfering with the formation of infectious HIV virus. Terms were not disclosed.

• Hovione, of Lisbon, Portugal, entered a co-promotion and collaboration agreement to provide its customers with access to Captisol technology from San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin, is used to improve the solubility and stability of drugs and currently is incorporated in six marketed products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Innovent Biologics Inc., of China, and contract research organization Aragen Bioscience Inc., of Morgan Hill, Calif., initiated a collaboration for the development of manufacturing cell lines for biotherapeutic product development. Under the terms, Aragen is developing CHO cell lines and assessing critical product quality attributes for various antibodies and therapies

• La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, said its common stock started quotation on the OTC Bulletin Board under the ticker "LJPC." The stock lost 10.5 percent on Wednesday, closing at 9 cents.

• Pathfinder Cell Therapy Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported preclinical data showing that its cell-based therapy is able to regenerate and enable functional repair of damaged tissue even when extracted from a different species and tissue type. Results of the study, which examined ischemia reperfusion injury in a mouse model of renal damage, were published in Rejuvenation Research.

• Tetragenetics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it inked a deal with an option for an exclusive license with New York-based Pfizer Inc. using Tetragenetics' SionX application of its discovery platform. SionX is designed to enable high-density expression of recombinant human ion channels on the cell membranes of Tetrahymena thermophile. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Tris Pharma Inc., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., said the FDA approved its new drug application for Karbinal ER (carbinoxamine maleate) extended-release oral suspension, a sustained-release histamine receptor blocking agent indicated for the treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis in children 2 years and older. The drug was developed based on Tris' OralXR+ technology. The firm is finalizing its marketing partner and said it plans to launch the drug later this year in anticipation of the fall allergy season.