• Archemix Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and NascaCell Technologies AG, of Munich, Germany, said they have expanded their alliance on the use and development of aptamers, a new generation of biomolecules. Specific terms were not disclosed. Under the new agreement, NascaCell receives nonexclusive rights to uses of aptamers for target validation, mode-of-action studies, drug discovery and aptamer structure-based drug design. Future aptamer technology improvements will be cross-licensed between the companies, and Archemix will have the option of contracting NascaCell to generate aptamers for its own applications.

• Cellartis, of Gothenburg, Sweden, said it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., of New York, for the development of a novel model system for detecting human toxicity in vitro. The goal is to generate a predictive developmental screening model for new chemical entities using the Cellartis human Embryonic Stem cell platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, reported positive in vivo results for two novel peptide agonists of the MAS G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) for potential treatment of various cardiovascular and other pathologies. The two peptides - CGEN-856 and CGEN-857 - were identified using the company's previously announced GPCR ligand discovery platform. The in vivo results will be presented at the VII International Symposium on Vasoactive Peptides to be held this week in Brazil.

• Cytheris SA, of Paris, reported the results of the long-term follow-up of patients in a multicenter Phase I/II clinical trial designed to test CYT107, its recombinant Interleukin-7 (IL-7), as a potential therapy for people suffering from chronic HIV-1 infection, whose CD4+ T-cell counts remained low despite treatment with antiretroviral therapies. After 48 weeks, patients treated at the higher dose level showed a median increase in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell counts of 75 percent and 57 percent respectively from baseline levels. Cytheris said the long-term follow-up study indicated the stability of the T-cell response already noted at week 12 of the trial. The company also is testing CYT107 in two cancer indications in order to evaluate the immune system response and resulting antitumor activity.

• Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, reported a 34 percent increase in revenues to €491.8 million (US$724.9 million) in 2007, which was well above its recent forecast of €460 million. The company's revenues have doubled in two years, since they amounted to €233 million in 2005. Pro forma revenues were 10 percent up last year, with the rest coming from acquisitions. Eurofins now describes itself as a Franco-German company, since it is listed on both the Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges, and those two countries generated more than two-fifths of its revenues in 2007 - Germany 20.7 percent and France 20 percent. In addition, Scandinavia contributed 18 percent, North America 12.4 percent and the British Isles 10.1 percent.

• EUSA Pharma, of Oxford, UK, said it has licensed OP-R003, a human anti-interleukin-6 antibody discovered by Rochester, N.Y.-based Vaccinex Inc. to GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London. Under the terms, GSK will pay an undisclosed up-front license fee, development milestones and royalties on product sales. In exchange, the pharma firm gains worldwide rights to OP-R003 in rheumatoid arthritis and other indications. The drug was discovered using Vaccinex's antibody discovery technology and licensed for co-development by EUSA. Vaccinex will share 50 percent of fees, payments and royalties.

• Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said the CHDI Foundation Inc., which supports therapies for Huntington's disease, has extended its collaboration with Evotec, which will bring in an extra $37 million in research funds. The partnership, now extended to the end of 2010, is to help the company advance its Huntington's disease drug discovery programs. The collaboration covers Evotec's entire drug discovery offering.

• Foamix Ltd., of Ness Ziona, Israel, said it has agreed to acquire the license for Organo-Boron antifungal molecules from Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. The financial terms were not disclosed. Under the deal, Foamix will have the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Ramot's proprietary Organo-Boron compounds, which were developed by Amihay Freeman and his research team at Tel Aviv University. The Ramot Organo-Boron drugs are expected to be effective for onychomycosis, fungal infection of the fingernails and toenails, with a global market of about $1.7 billion in 2005, according to Foamix.

• Lipoxen plc, of London, said its partner, Serum Institute of India, has began dosing patients in a Phase I trial of ErepoXen, a long-acting EPO in the treatment of anemia in patients receiving renal dialysis. The product is formulated using Lipoxen's PolyXen delivery technology. The aim of the trial is to demonstrate the benefits of ErepoXen's sustained-release characteristics as compared to current EPO products, which are administered between one and three times per week.

• Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said the Children with Diabetes Foundation has offered its support in raising funds for LCT's DiabeCell clinical trials for people with Type I diabetes. The foundation has established a fund that allows supporters of diabetes research to contribute tax deductible donations toward the trials.

• Mymetics Corp., of Nyon, Switzerland, said it is part of a European healthcare consortium awarded a €7.5 million (US$11 million) grant from the European Commission to investigate new HIV antigen formulations for triggering broadly neutralizing antibodies in the blood and mucosal compartments, using various adjuvants and platform technologies based on virus-like particles. Mymetics is supporting the consortium through its expertise with vaccination and HIV mucosal immune response and will provide access the HIV virosomes technology.

• Optimata Ltd., of Ramat Gan, Israel, said it successfully completed a private placement of $1.5 million from a new group of private European investors. The proceeds will enable Optimata to complete the evaluation process required for selecting discontinued drug candidates that are most suitable for repurposing. In the next few months, the company said it plans to make a final selection of one or two compounds and use its technology to significantly improve the compounds' safety and efficacy profiles.

• Pharmaxis, of Sydney, Australia, said it will apply for Australian marketing approval of Bronchitol for patients with bronchiectasis, following a meeting with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. Bronchitol is being developed as a twice daily therapy for people with the incurable lung condition Bronchiectasis. A Phase III study last year showed a significant improvement in the quality of life for patients treated with Bronchitol, and a significant difference in their mucus clearance.

• Plasticell, of London, has entered into an agreement with King's College London to exploit and market two human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines. The agreement gives Plasticell a license to make, have made, use and sell the hESC lines KCL-001 and KCL-002. Having previously obtained rights to six hESC lines owned by Axordia Ltd, Plasticell is now in a position to exploit commercially eight different hESC lines, four of which are currently available from the UK Stem Cell Bank.

• Senexis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Oxygen Healthcare Ltd. (O2H), also of Cambridge, agreed to a collaboration, under which O2H will provide synthetic and computational chemistry services for Senexis' drug discovery programs. Senexis focuses on developing treatments and diagnostics for age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's dementia, Type II diabetes and dialysis-related amyloidosis. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Shire plc, of Basingstoke, UK, said Elaprase (idursulfase), a human enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of Hunter syndrome, has been approved for commercial sale by the Mexican Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk. Mexico is the first Latin American country to approve the drug.

• Sygnis Pharma AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, has received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency for AX200 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company said preclinical trials show that AX200 counteracts neuronal cell death and decelerates the development of ALS. It also advances regenerative processes by stimulating neuronal stem cells.

• ValiRx, of London, has signed a letter of intent with Clarity Imaging International Inc. to secure the distribution rights Clarity holds for the human papillomavirus (HPV) Geneotype Diagnostic Test Kit for the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The kit currently tests for 39 subtypes of HPV.