• Atlantic Healthcare Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, raised £1 million (US$2.1 million) in a private round, and said it plans to file for an initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market in London by mid-2008. The company licenses late-stage products for development and marketing, and currently has three Phase III products based on antisense technology for treating inflammatory diseases.

• Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, received an advance payment of $50 million from the Department of Health and Human Services, as allowed under the RFP-3 contract awarded in April, under which HHS agreed to buy 20 million doses of Imvamune, a third-generation smallpox vaccine, for the strategic national stockpile. Before the end of this year, Bavarian Nordic expects to invoice two additional milestone payments of $25 million each, bringing the total 2007 RFP-3 payment to $100 million. The company also reported that development of Imvamune is proceeding as planned, with Phase III studies in healthy subjects expected to start next year.

• Beactica AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, entered a drug discovery agreement with London-based Arrow Therapeutics Ltd. to direct its characterization technology at selected Arrow compounds against a confidential target. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• BioView Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, agreed to allow Transgenomic Inc., of Omaha, Neb., to distribute BioView's family of Scanning and Analysis Workstations in selected Western European countries and Scandinavia. Transgenomic's European sales and support organization will market, sell and serve the instruments, which include automated workstations for scanning and classification of cells via fluorescence in situ hybridization and brightlight microscopy. Terms were not disclosed.

• Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., of Petach Tikva, Israel, said preclinical findings show that CF101, which is in development for rheumatoid arthritis, also could be used to treat Crohn's disease, since the A3 adenosine receptor targeted by CF101 is overexpressed in bowel tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from Crohn's disease patients. CF101 is designed to work by binding to the A3 adenosine receptor and causing apoptosis in the inflammatory cells. The company also continues to proceed with CF101 in RA, with a confirmatory Phase IIb trial scheduled to start in early 2008.

• Celgene International Sarl, of Neuchatel, Switzerland, said the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee recommended approval of Revlimid (lenalidomide) in combination with dexamethasone in multiple myeloma patients whose cancers have progressed after one therapy. That recommendation will be forwarded to Australia's regulatory authority for final approval, expected to take two to six weeks. Regulators generally follow the recommendation of ADEC. Revlimid previously gained approval for multiple myeloma in the U.S. and Europe, and for myelodysplastic syndromes in the U.S.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said its subsidiary Berna Biotech AG sold all of the 2.9 million shares it owned in Bern, Switzerland-based Pevion Biotech Ltd., generating net proceeds of CHF10 million (US$8.9 million). Pevion was a joint venture between Berna and Bubendorf, Switzerland-based Bachem Group AG. Separately, Crucell signed a deal with Sanquin, a nonprofit blood blank in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. That deal gives Crucell exclusive marketing and distribution rights in certain countries to Cofact, Sanquin's registration-stage prothrombin complex to promote blood clotting. Terms were not disclosed.

• Diamyd Medical, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Sangamo BioSciences, of Richmond, Calif., said that data showed a statistically significant reduction in pain in a preclinical model of cancer pain using a product that combines Sangamo's proprietary zinc finger protein technology with Diamyd's nerve targeting drug delivery system.

• Direvo Biotech AG, of Cologne, Germany, acquired AC Biotech GmbH, of Julich, Germany, in an all-cash transaction, though specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. AC Biotech will continue to operate as an independent, fully-owned subsidiary of Direvo. The deal helps Direvo extend and expand its capabilities and offerings in the industrial biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets. AC Biotech provides bioprocess development and contract manufacturing services. In other news, Direvo signed an agreement with New York-based Pfizer Inc. to develop therapeutic proteases for various disease targets. Direvo will apply its protein-engineering capabilities to create proteases with engineered specificity for those targets and will optimize preclinical candidates. Pfizer then will be responsible for development and marketing, and will pay Direvo milestones and royalties on any product sales.

• Eden Biodesign Ltd., of Liverpool, UK, and ImmunoBiology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, extended their initial collaboration to develop ImmBio's influenza vaccine, with the new contract covering a range of development and cGMP manufacturing services to produce material for ImmBio's Phase I trial. ImmBio is developing ImmunoBodies, a technology designed to work by coupling the Fc region of an antibody to influenza haemagglutinin. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Eurofins Scientific, of Nantes, France, completed its takeover of Lantmännen Analycen AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, a firm that provides analytical testing services of agro-food products, agronomic complements and pharmaceuticals. At the same time, the French company has raised its revenue forecast for 2007 from €450 million to €460 million (US$657 million to US$671.7 million) and announced the objective of stepping up its turnover by a further 20 percent to €550 million in 2008. Its sales in the third quarter of this year were already 36 percent up at €334 million, while its operating earnings rose by 37 percent to €10.6 million.

• GW Pharmaceuticals plc, of Salisbury, UK, said data showing that its cannabis-based medicine Sativex successfully treats peripheral neuropathic pain was published in Pain. Those data come from a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled parallel group study of 125 patients with peripheral neuropathic pain characterized by allodynia. Sativex demonstrated superiority to placebo in reducing pain and was well tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events.

• Invitrogen Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., and Biosynth AG, of Staad, Switzerland, launched a fluorescence-based culture medium for faster detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The product is designed for use by hospitals and clinics to monitor and manage MRSA infections.

• Kedrion SpA, of Lucca, Italy, and ProMetic BioTherapeutics Inc., of Montreal, reached a preliminary agreement for multiple hyperimmunes, under which Kedrion will license technologies from ProMetic to enable hyperimmune manufacturing in Europe. The agreement, expected to close shortly, is based on license fees, service fees and royalties to be pay to ProMetic. Specific terms were not disclosed.

• Kiadis Pharma, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, said that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to the firm's lead product, ATIR, as a therapy for immune reconstitution and prevention of graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) following allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation. ATIR is currently in Phase I/II clinical studies and is anticipated to enter clinical Phase III studies in 2008. ATIR is designed to prevent GVHD by selectively eliminating the immune cells that otherwise attack the patient's body. The product also is designed to spare useful immune cells that can fight infections and remaining tumor cells that would allow rapid and safe immune reconstitution post-transplantation.

• Lantibio Inc., of Chapel Hill, N.C., and TRB Chemedica, of Valais, Switzerland, signed a license agreement with a subsidiary of Hunenberg, Switzerland-based Alcon Inc., for U.S. rights to a dry eye syndrome product that consists of a TRB formulation containing sodium hyaluronate. That product currently is in an ongoing Phase III pivotal study, and Lantibio expects to file a new drug application in 2008. Under the terms, Lantibio will conduct the development program, while Alcon will assume responsibility for subsequent marketing, sales and manufacturing in the U.S. market. Terms call for undisclosed up-front and milestone payments, as well as royalties to be paid to Lantibio and TRB by Alcon on product sales.

• Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said U.S. investment group NaviGroup Management Ltd. completed the initial closing under the Oct. 4 share purchase agreement, paying $2 million in exchange for 20.2 million shares priced at A11 cents each. Under the terms, LCT will seek shareholder approval to grant NaviGroup a 90-day option to subscribe an additional $6 million at the lower of A20 cents per share or 80 percent of the 30-day average closing bid price. The combination of those funds and the Oct. 30 placement by Taylor Collison Ltd. - that deal calls for up to 17.7 million shares issued at A36 cents each - could bring the company as much as $15 million. Funds strengthen LCT's financial position and will support further development of DiabeCell, a porcine pancreatic cell product for treating Type I diabetes.

• Medivir AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, is using the Synapt HDMS (Synapt High Definition Mass Spectrometry System) from Milford, Mass.-based Waters Corp. to hasten its drug discovery efforts in the area of protease inhibitors for diseases such as herpes, hepatitis C, HIV, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and high blood pressure. Medivir intends to use the system for tasks such as elucidation of metabolites and impurities, ligand screening during early drug discovery, protein and peptide work, protein identification and for studying post-translation modifications and target characterization. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Neurotune AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, said it has moved to new laboratory and office facilities at the Biotech Centre in Zurich. The company said the move will help advance the development of its candidate substances for treating diseases of the human central and peripheral nervous system. The company is focused on developing drugs to treat sarcopenia, or age-related muscle atrophy.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, presented data from an exploratory blood pressure study of anti-inflammatory drug naproxcinod. The study showed that patients receiving naproxcinod had lower blood pressure than those receiving the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent naproxen, with the findings reaching statistical significance for diastolic blood pressure but not for systolic blood pressure. The data were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2007. Naproxcinod is in Phase III trials for osteoarthritis.

• Paion AG, of Aachen, Germany, said it is seeking a new U.S. partner for lead compound Desmoteplase, which it plans to advance despite inconclusive results reported in June from a Phase III stroke trial that yielded a greater-than-expected response in the placebo group. Paion's former partner, Forest Laboratories Inc., of New York, returned rights to the product in August. Paion later completed a reanalysis of the Phase III data and determined to move Desmoteplase into another study focusing on patients with obstructed major brain arteries.

• Qiagen NV, of Venlo, the Netherlands, said that data showed the FastHPV, a molecular test for cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV), could reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by as much as 56 percent if given just three times over a woman's life and combined with appropriate treatment. A clinical research study, the firm said, concluded that the FastHPV test produces rapid, accurate results, yet is also simple to run, requires minimal infrastructure and will be affordable for public-health programs. The test is on track to be submitted for its first regulatory approvals in China and India in 2008.

• Sloning BioTechnology GmbH, of Puchheim, Germany, raised €4.7 million (US$6.8 million) in the first closing of a Series E round. New investor LBBW Venture Capital GmbH, of Stuttgart, Germany, joined existing investors HBM BioVentures, KfW Bankengruppe and Deutsche Effecten-und Wechsel-Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG. Proceeds will be used to support the internationalization of the company's Slonomics gene synthesis business and to further expand Slonomax, its gene mutant library product family.

• Theraptosis SA, of Romainville, France, appointed Olivier Chesnoy CEO and chairman to succeed the company's co-founder, Etienne Jacotot. Jacotot will now devote himself to the role of chief scientific officer. Chesnoy was previously with the French pharmaceutical company Fournier, of Dijon, where his last position was general manager of Fournier Spain. Theraptosis, which is developing therapeutic compounds using the modulation of cellular death (apoptosis) and is focusing on perinatal brain injury and cancer, is set to initiate clinical trials of its first drug candidate.

• Tripos Discovery Research Ltd., of Bude, UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc., signed a service agreement with Kenilworth, N.J.-based Schering-Plough Corp. to design, synthesize and purify high-quality, drug-like compounds to expand Schering-Plough Research Institute's compound collection. Under the terms, TDR will use its design software ChemSpace to collaborate with SPRI for compound libraries, as well as large-scale, high-throughput synthesis, purification and analysis of those compounds. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) in London elected Clive Dix as its new chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2008. He succeeds Simon Best, who will remain a member of the BIA Board. Dix currently is non-executive chairman of London-based Modern Biosciences plc and previously served as co-founder and CEO of PowderMed Ltd., of Oxford, UK, the vaccines development company acquired by New York-based Pfizer Inc., in November 2006.

• Verona Pharma plc, of London, said its asthma drug candidate, RPL554, is starting a second 28-day inhalation toxicology study to demonstrate safety, and pending positive results, the company anticipates moving into the clinic early next year. RPL554 is a long-acting bronchodilator/anti-inflammatory molecule in development for hay fever, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.