• Abraxis BioScience Inc., of Los Angeles, said that its biotechnology business has been successfully spun-off from APP Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill., in a tax-free transaction. Abraxis, which markets Abraxane (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension), has received cash proceeds of about $700 million. The number of outstanding shares in the new firm will be about 40 million, the firm said.

• Lead Therapeutics Inc., of San Bruno, Calif., entered a research collaboration with Chinese contract research organization Shanghai ChemPartner Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based ShangPharma Co. Ltd. The deal provides Lead with access to scientists from Shanghai ChemPartner. Additionally, ShangPharma's investment arm, China Gateway Life Science Holding Ltd., made an undisclosed equity investment in Lead. Earlier this month, Lead closed a $17 million Series A round for preclinical work in infectious diseases and oncology. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 6, 2007.)

• NeoStem Inc., of New York, acquired Stem Cell Technologies Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tampa, Fla.-based technology transfer specialist UTEK Corp. Financial terms for the all-stock transaction were not disclosed. The deal provides NeoStem with access to SCT's technology for identifying and isolating VSELs (very small embryonic-like) adult stem cells. The VSEL technology was licensed from the University of Louisville, and NeoStem entered a sponsored research agreement with the university.

• Orexo AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said its shareholders approved the previously proposed acquisition of Stockholm, Sweden-based Biolipox AB. Biolipox had previously agreed to acquire several assets from Vancouver, British Columbia-based Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in exchange for up to $11 million plus potential royalties. Inflazyme shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Biolipox deal at a special meeting on Friday. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 16, 2007.)

• Pharsight Corp., of Mountain View, Calif., said that its previously-announced one-for-three reverse stock split became effective Tuesday. The firm said that the reverse split has reduced the number of shares of Pharsight common stock outstanding from about 28.2 million to about 9.4 million. The exercise price and the number of shares of common stock issuable under Pharsight's outstanding warrants and options have been proportionately adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split.

• Regenetech Inc., of Houston, said it has signed a sponsored research agreement (SRA) with Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore on a treatment for Type I diabetes. The SRA adds to the research agreements in place with Texas A&M University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The research project involves developing a treatment for Type I diabetes using a patient's own adult stem cells expanded in Regenetech's Intrifuge Bioreactor. Regenetech's SRA with Texas A&M University involves the treatment of bone fractures in animals. Any new intellectual property that is generated from these research agreements will be owned by the respective universities, but the company has the right to negotiate exclusive licenses.

• Rosetta Genomics Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, said it has initiated in vivo studies of its microRNA-based liver cancer therapeutic program in collaboration with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif. Eight microRNAs screened and tested have been determined to lead to a decrease in liver cancer cell growth when inhibited, the firm said. Those will be further tested during the in vivo studies, the company said.

• RXi Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Worcester, Mass., exclusively licensed second-generation RNA interference technology from Invitrogen Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif. The license covers certain Invitrogen patents relating to enhanced configurations of chemically modified double-stranded RNA, including Invitrogen's Stealth RNAi technology. Terms were not disclosed. RXi is a majority-owned subsidiary of Los Angeles-based CytRx Corp. but announced plans last month to become independent. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 31, 2007.)

• Techne Corp., of Minneapolis, said it is repurchasing up to $150 million of its outstanding common shares. No expiration date was set on the stock repurchase authorization, the firm said. The manner of purchases, the amount that the company spends and the number of shares it ultimately purchases will be at the discretion of management and will depend on factors such as current stock price and daily trading volume of the firm's shares, among other factors. The share repurchase is being funded with a portion of the company's existing cash and available-for-sale investments. Techne had cash and available-for-sale investments of about $279 million, no long-term debt and shareholders' equity in excess of $466 million as of Sept. 30. The firm said its prior share repurchase program, authorized in October 2002, has been terminated.

• ThromboGenics NV, of Leuven, Belgium, said it is progressing with the early-stage development of its novel anti-VPAC antibody for the treatment of thrombocytopenia, including chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia, a common severe adverse effect that increases the risk of bleeding and severity of haemorrhage. The inhibition of VPAC, a receptor present at the surface of bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes, which, when mature, produce platelets, could stimulate the production of platelets, the firm said. ThromboGenics has identified and selected a lead antibody against VPAC to enter preclinical development.