• Acorda Therapeutics Inc., of Hawthorne, N.Y., reported details from a preclinical study showing that a recombinant human monoclonal antibody, administered in a single low dose in a laboratory mouse model of multiple sclerosis, can repair myelin, the insulating covering over nerve fibers in the central nervous system. The antibody, which was genetically engineered for large-scale production, binds to myelin and the surface of cells in the brain and spinal cord, triggering the cells to begin the repair process called remyelination. The study was conducted using a laboratory mouse model of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis in humans. The antibody was delivered alone and in combination with the steroid methylprednisolone. Remyelination was detected in both instances. Under a license agreement with the Mayo Clinic, Acorda holds exclusive worldwide rights to certain patents and other intellectual property for the antibody related to use and treatment of central nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis.

• Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif., completed its previously announced acquisition of East Brunswick, N.J.-based Esprit Pharma Inc. for about $370 million in cash. Esprit's main products are the overactive bladder drugs Sanctura, which currently is marketed, and Sanctura XR, which Allergan plans to launch in the first quarter of 2008.

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said a preclinical study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that chemically synthesized small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting the gene responsible for Huntington's disease produced improved symptoms in an animal model. The research was done by Alnylam and scientists from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

• Biopure Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., said it received notification from Nasdaq that it has regained compliance with the $1 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Markets. The company also reported that its board elected R. Todd Wood vice president of operations and acting chief financial officer.

• Charlesson LLC, of Oklahoma City, has received three Small Business Innovative Research awards from the National Institutes of Health and an award from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology totaling approximately $2.35 million. The money will support development of several drug candidates, as well as nanoparticle-based gene therapies for eye disease. Charlesson is developing CLT-003, a small-molecule therapeutic for reducing vascular leakage and subsequent neovascularization and inflammation that can occur in the eyes of diabetic patients.

• Curis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said study results of CUDC-101 demonstrated that administration of the compound results in the inhibition of in vivo growth of various human cancers in standard mouse tumor xenograft models. The firm also reported that administration of CUDC-101 in xenograft models resulted in inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and an increase in apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Tumor inhibition effects of CUDC-101 also have been observed in two non-small-cell lung cancer xenograft tumor models.

• DARA BioSciences Inc., of Raleigh, N.C., and Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Wayne, N.J., signed a license agreement granting Dara exclusive worldwide rights to a series of patents and compounds for treating metabolic diseases, in particular Type II diabetes and dyslipidemia. Lead compounds are in later preclinical development. Under the terms of the agreement, DARA will develop and commercialize products while Bayer will receive an up-front payment, milestone payments and royalties during the development and commercialization. In addition, Bayer has certain rights to commercialize products emanating from this development program. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Diatos SA, of Paris, started its regulatory toxicology program of DTS-108, an oncology product consisting of SN38 (the active metabolite of irinotecan) conjugated through a chemical linker to a Vectocell peptide. Preclinical data to date have suggested that the drug could significantly improve on the therapeutic benefit provided by irinotecan by improving antitumor efficacy with greater safety. Diatos is planning to move DTS-108 into the clinic in the first half of 2008.

• Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, said Health Canada approved Atripla (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) for adults with HIV-1 infection. The drug was approved in the U.S. last year.

• ImClone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., both of New York, will collaborate with Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, to develop Erbitux (cetuximab) in Japan. The drug would be marketed in Japan following regulatory approval there. Merck Serono Japan would distribute the product and record sales for the collaboration. Bristol-Myers and Merck would use their Japanese sales forces, and upon approval, the companies would share profits and losses from the venture. Merck would receive 50 percent and ImClone and Bristol-Myers each would get 25 percent, reflecting previously granted co-exclusive rights to Erbitux in Japan by ImClone to Merck and Bristol-Myers. ImClone also would receive a royalty equal to 4.75 percent of total net sales in Japan from Merck. All three companies had applied in Japan earlier this year for the use of Erbitux in treating patients with EGFR-expressing mCRC.

• Invitrogen Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., said researchers from Yale University used the company's ProtoArray protein microarray technology to identify new autoantigens associated with ovarian cancer. The findings were published in this week's online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, said its lead candidate, picoplatin, was granted orphan medicinal product designation in small-cell lung cancer by the European Commission. That status would provide the company with regulatory assistance and would guarantee 10 years of marketing exclusivity upon approval. Picoplatin is in a pivotal Phase III trial in SCLC, which is evaluating overall survival as the primary endpoint.

• Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newton, Mass., reported that study results of a series of first-in-class, novel carbohydrate compounds showed that the compounds significantly reduced collagen expression and reversed liver fibrosis in animal models. Uncontrolled collagen expression is a pathological process that occurs during the fibrotic process, affecting various organs which leads to scar tissue. Fibrosis in patients with liver disease leads to liver failure. Carbohydrate polymers were synthesized and screened to inhibit collagen production in in-vivo and in-vitro fibrosis models.

• Protiva Biotherapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, has granted Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., a nonexclusive license to Protiva's SNALP (Stable Nucleic Acid-Lipid Particles) technology for research and development of therapeutics in the RNAi field. Protiva will receive a one-time payment from Merck with the potential for milestone and royalty payments based upon the developmental progress of future RNAi-based product candidates. In addition, Protiva will cease all litigation between Protiva and Sirna Therapeutics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, including the removal of a preliminary injunction granted by the Superior Court of California in March 2007. Financial details were not disclosed.

• TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., reported that Tezampanel (NGX424), a small molecule currently in clinical development for acute migraine headache, was shown in an independent study to be effective in reversing or preventing muscle spasticity and rigidity in a rat model of spinal ischemia. Tezampanel, an AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist, acts on glutamate receptors located in the brain and spinal cord. In the study, Tezampanel was found to block transmission of AMPA-evoked glutamate release and relieve symptoms of muscle spasticity and rigidity in treated rats without any detectable side effects such as respiratory depression or general sedation.

• VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, restructured its lease and agreed to move out of one of its two buildings. The move is expected to reduce costs by more than $12 million over the remaining nine years of the lease term. Last month, the company restructured for the third time since losing its anthrax vaccine government contract late last year. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 17, 2007.)

• Vivalis, of Nantes, France, granted rights to Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis SA to evaluate its EBx cell lines, cell substrates derived from avian embryonic stem cells, from the production of monoclonal antibodies. Financial terms were not disclosed.