• 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Exton, Pa., received a two-year $1 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health to support continuing research to crystallize and determine high-resolution 3D structures of G-protein-coupled receptors.

• Aastrom Biosciences Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., raised $6 million in equity capital through the sale to a single investor of 2.26 million units, each of which consists of one share of common stock and a three-year warrant to purchase one-half of one share of common stock at $3.70. With full exercise of the stock purchase warrants, the company could receive an additional $4.2 million. The financing will help fund the company’s clinical trial programs for the AastromReplicell Cell Production System and to initiate expanded operations.

• Abgenix Inc., of Fremont, Calif., said its board approved a 2-for-1 split of the company’s common stock. The stock split will be effected in the form of a stock dividend and will entitle each stockholder of record at the close of business on March 16 to receive one share of common stock for every share of common stock held. Upon completion of the split, Abgenix will have about 39.4 million shares outstanding.

• Access Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dallas, signed licensing agreements granting Mipharm SpA marketing and manufacturing rights for amlexanox for numerous indications, including the prevention and treatment of mucositis, oral lichen planus and atopic dermatitis. The agreements cover Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Lebanon, and include OraRinse and a 5 percent amlexanox gel for the treatment of oral lichen planus. Access also granted manufacturing rights for Europe to Mipharm for the products. Mipharm will make an equity investment in Access, pay up-front licensing fees, make milestone payments and provide a royalty on product sales.

• American Biogenetic Sciences Inc., of Copiague, N.Y., said the Institute for the Study of Aging Inc., of New York, will fund a study on the ABS-205 neuroscience compound, an agent to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The candidate is in preclinical trials and has potential of also treating Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, neuropathic pain, stroke and head trauma.

• Boston Life Sciences Inc., of Boston, said a Phase II trial for the use of Altropane to diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with the FDA is scheduled to begin within the next four to six weeks. It will include 40 subjects.

• Cel-Sci Corp., of Vienna, Va., identified a novel vaccine candidate for the treatment of HIV. The vaccine would be used in conjunction with antiviral drug therapy to stimulate an anti-HIV immune response in order to see if it can eliminate the remaining reservoirs of virus, increase disease-free survival time, reduce or eliminate the need for changes to patients’ treatment regimens due to drug resistance, maintain stimulation of the immune response to the HIV virus in patients whose antigen has been reduced by the antiretroviral therapy and lower treatment costs.

• Clear Solutions Biotech, of Stony Brook, N.Y., and Laboratorios Sophia, of Guadalajara, Mexico, signed an agreement to develop a gene therapeutic to treat dry eye syndrome. The therapy will use Clear Solutions’ hydrazide mediated cross-linking technology to link therapeutic genes to high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, and allow for sustained delivery of the genes to the eye.

• CuraGen Corp., of New Haven, Conn., said its board approved a 2-for-1 split of the company’s common stock. Stockholders of record will receive one additional share of CuraGen’s common stock for every share they own on March 15. The company’s stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on March 31. The company will have about 36.4 million shares outstanding.

• CV Therapeutics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., entered into a purchase agreement to sell $175 million aggregate principal amount of convertible subordinated notes. The offering could bring in $201.3 million if the overallotment option is exercised in full. The company announced the offering in February, with the intention of raising $125 million. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 28, 2000, p. 6.)

• Cytoclonal Pharmaceutics Inc., of Dallas, created an inhibitor of the cancer-related gene PKC-alpha based on its Oasis genome library technology. PKC-alpha is involved in pancreatic and ovarian cancers. The company said studies of the inhibitors are being expanded in select animal model systems.

• Emisphere Technologies Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, extended its collaboration with Emisphere for the oral delivery of a second Novartis compound. The companies will select a second drug compound from several candidates, and Emisphere will receive a cash payment. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 5, 1997, p. 1.)

• Evotec BioSystems AG, of Hamburg, Germany, signed a drug discovery alliance with Sugen Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs that target specific cellular transduction pathways. Evotec will offer its expertise in ultra-high-throughput screening technology and miniaturized assay development, and it will receive an up-front payment, a milestone payment and a final payment at the end of the collaboration. Sugen will retain exclusive, worldwide rights to commercialize products resulting from the collaboration, while Evotec will be entitled to royalties.

• Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, said it acquired exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to a novel anesthetic compound developed by ProQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lawrence, Kansas. The anesthetic agent, PQ-1002, is in late-stage preclinical development.