• Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, completed its previously announced purchase of Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan) from Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc. CTI paid $10 million up front and may pay $20 million in milestones, as well as royalties for U.S. rights to the drug, a radioimmunotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. CTI also appointed Jim Fong, former senior director of brand marketing at CV Therapeutics Inc., president of commercial operations. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 17, 2007.)

• Exelgen Ltd., of Richmond, Va., (formerly Tripos Discovery Research), a subsidiary of Bude, England-based Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc., signed collaborations with two undisclosed European biotech firms. Those partnerships will involve a range of research activities using Exelgen's chemistry process, including medicinal chemistry and application of its LeadHopping technology to identify and progress lead compound series into preclinical studies. Financial terms were not disclosed in either deal.

• Insmed Inc., of Richmond, Va., requested a hearing to appeal its potential delisting from Nasdaq. The company's shares (NASDAQ:INSM) were scheduled to be delisted Dec. 31 due to failure to maintain the minimum bid price. The delisting now will be postponed until after the hearing. The stock closed at 89 cents Thursday, with no change.

• Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, signed definitive agreements for a $13 million financing with Platinum Montaur Life Sciences LLC. The first funding under the securities purchase agreement is for $7 million, which will be used to repay in full $5.7 million in notes due January 2009. Montaur agreed to provide the remaining $6 million to support development of Lymphoseek, Neoprobe's radioactive tracing agent for use in intraoperative lymphatic mapping. The product is set to start Phase III testing, at which time Montaur will provide half of the $6 million. The last $3 million will be added when Neoprobe enrolls 200 evaluable patients in the Phase III studies. WBB Securities LLC served as the sole placement agent.

• Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Miami, received tentative FDA approval for Stavzor (valproic acid delayed-release capsules) in the treatment of seizures and manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder, as well as for migraine headache prevention. The Stavzor application was submitted under the 505(b)(2) pathway and references Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott's Depakote. Noven said it expects final approval around July 2008, when Depakote's exclusivity expires.

• Nutra Pharma Corp., of Boca Raton, Fla., expanded its licensing agreement with Hubbard, Ohio-based NanoLogix Inc. to include intellectual property for the use of testing the environment for non-tuberculosis Mycobacterium (NTM). Nutra Pharma's medical device subsidiary, Designer Diagnostics, is planning to start third-party validation for its NTM diagnostic test kits and will apply for FDA approval following successful completion of a clinical trial.

• XOMA Ltd., of Berkeley, Calif., filed a $150 million shelf registration statement to raise money, from time to time, from the sale of common stock and/or warrants. Specific terms will be disclosed at the time of any offering. Net proceeds are expected to support general corporate purposes, including research and development projects, the development or acquisition of new products or technologies, equipment acquisitions, general working capital and operating expenses.