• Advanced Cell Technology Inc., of Los Angeles, has completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding capital stock of Mytogen Inc., of Charlestown, Mass. Advanced Cell issued a total of approximately 8.2 million restricted shares of common stock, valued at $5 million and assumed certain Mytogen liabilities. Mytogen shareholders also received a warrant to purchase an additional 1.5 million shares of restricted common stock at 75 cents per share subject to the achievement of certain milestones.

• Advanced Life Sciences Holdings Inc., of Chicago, has received approval from Nasdaq to transfer the listing of its common stock to the Nasdaq Capital Market from the Nasdaq Global Market. The transfer was effective Monday. The company continues to be listed and traded under the symbol "ADLS."

• Amarin Corp. plc, of London, reported preclinical results demonstrating that its ultra-pure eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) attenuates the age-related and beta amyloid-induced impairment of long-term potentiation, a phenomenon considered a marker of neural process integrity for memory and cognition. The study confirmed that EPA reduced concentrations of the pro-inflammatory interleukin 1-beta in rats, and also showed phosphorylation of the stress-activated protein kinase, c-jun N-terminal kinase. Those data were published in the Journal of Neurochemistry. Amarin is developing EPA for age-associated memory impairment and cognition and anticipates beginning a clinical program by the end of this year.

• Argentis Pharmaceuticals LLC, of Memphis, Tenn., has signed an agreement with LifeCyte Inc., also of Memphis, to assist in the design and development of a dedicated current Good Manufacturing Practices facility that will purify arGentis' collagen products. Initially bovine native Type I collagen will be purified for use in ARG201, arGentis' treatment for systemic sclerosis. Pending discussions with the FDA, ARG201 is expected to enter a Phase III clinical trial in 2008. ArGentis also will produce various types of highly purified (>98%) collagen used for the research and the medical device industries.

• Biogen Idec, of Cambridge, Mass., announced a research collaboration with the newly formed Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University to discover and develop therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The collaboration will focus on discovering and advancing clinical candidates from the lab into the clinic, with an emphasis on discovering new therapeutics for those diseases. The collaboration will begin with a focus on two programs, with an expected expansion to additional programs over time.

• Cenomed BioSciences LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of Abraxis BioScience Inc., of Los Angeles, has signed a three-year cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense to evaluate Cenomed's lead investigational compound CM-2,501 and other associated compounds, for preventing toxicities following exposure to chemical warfare agents. Cenomed's compounds are being developed as a pre- and post-exposure therapy for military and civilian victims of a chemical nerve agent attack. Financial terms were not disclosed. Cenomed will conduct preclinical studies and supply the compounds for evaluation. USAMRICD will perform all work associated with the chemical warfare agent exposure.

• Cepheid Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., has entered into an agreement to exclusively license the human papillomavirus (HPV) patent portfolio held by Quantovir AB, of Sweden, for the quantitative measurement of high-risk HPV types using DNA-based detection. Cepheid said Quantovir is believed to be the first to demonstrate that a molecular diagnostic test measuring the quantity, or viral load, of HPV DNA present in cervical specimens can be used to predict a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. Cepheid plans to use Quantovir's technology to develop a new type of HPV test for the GeneXpert System. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Dyadic International, of Jupiter, Fla., fired its president and CEO, Mark A. Emalfarb, effective Monday, following an accounting investigation involving its Asian subsidiaries. The company said a special committee approved the termination last Thursday and asked him to resign from the board of directors immediately. Dyadic said an independent investigation found that Emalfarb hid facts regarding operational and financial improprieties at its Asian subsidiaries. It previously was discovered that the companies' largest customer secretly was controlled by the Asian subsidiaries' management. Dyadic said the investigating committee found no improper actions by any other current members of its management. Earlier this month Harry Z. Rosengart was elected as chairman of the board, replacing Emalfarb.

• Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, signed a collaboration with Orfuel Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Yavne, Israel-based Ormat Industries Ltd., in the field of alternative energy and biofuels. The partnership is aimed at providing substantially improved feedstock sources for biodiesel production. The companies will work to develop nonedible plants displaying improved oil yield and the capability to be grown in non-arable lands. Evogene will use its advanced gene and molecular marker discovery capabilities in the development of enhanced crops to be evaluated in field trials by Orfuel. Upon completion of studies, the companies plan to establish a joint venture to commercialize the developed plants.

• Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Biolipox AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, have entered into a definitive purchase agreement in which Biolipox will acquire most of Inflazyme's assets for potential gross proceeds of up to $11 million plus a potential royalty payment. The assets include Inflazyme's research and development programs on the LSAIDs, the PDE inhibitors and the Protein Therapeutics Technology. Inflazyme will receive $4 million upon closing of the transaction, and the remaining $7 million would be paid on the successful attainment of certain milestones, which are: a decision to enter a Phase IIb clinical study with a PDE inhibitor, $1.5 million; a decision to initiate a Phase III clinical study with a PDE inhibitor, $2.5 million; and a decision to begin a Phase III clinical study with an LSAID, $3 million. In addition, Inflazyme could receive up to 35 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the Protein Therapeutics Technology if Biolipox sells or licenses those assets within 12 months of the closing of the transaction. Finally, the transaction also includes a potential royalty payment in the low single digits on net sales of the first PDE inhibitor compound brought to market. The transaction is subject to approval by Inflazyme's shareholders, consents from regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.

• Lixte Biotechnology Holdings Inc., of East Setauket, N.Y., has begun trading its common shares on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the Symbol "LIXT." Lixte is a cancer therapeutics and diagnostics company that develops new chemotherapy drugs targeting molecular abnormalities of common human cancers.

• MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., licensed its reverse genetics intellectual property to London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc to support the development and construction of new vaccine strains to produce non-live human influenza vaccines. Reverse genetics is a method by which viruses, such as the flu virus, can be generated from segments of DNA and allows manufacturers to avoid working directly with potentially highly infectious pandemic strains, such as H5N1. Under the terms, MedImmune will receive an undisclosed up-front payment and has the potential to receive royalties on certain vaccine stockpiles or sales of other influenza products developed using the technology.

• Modigene Inc., of Vienna, Va., said researchers will publish a study in the October edition of the journal Endocrinology showing that erythropoietin (EPO) linked to Modigene's carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP) technology significantly increased the half-life of standard EPO in animal models. The study, which assessed an early version of EPO-CTP, showed that a single weekly injection was as effective in raising hematocrit levels as the same total dose of standard EPO administered in three injections over the course of a week. Modigene is conducting late-stage preclinical studies of CTP-enhanced protein drugs including human growth hormone, interferon beta and EPO.

• NexMed Inc., of East Windsor, N.J., said it filed a new drug application for its topically applied alprostadil cream for treating erectile dysfunction. The FDA customarily accepts or refuses an NDA and designates review status within 60 days of filing. Once accepted, the standard review time by the FDA is 12 months.

• Nitec Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said the FDA accepted the investigational new drug application for Lodotra, a rheumatoid arthritis therapy. Marketing authorization already is being sought in Europe, and development now will start in the U.S. The compound, a modified-release tablet that has been developed to optimize the efficacy of orally administered low-dose prednisone, is the subject of a partnership with SkyePharma plc, of London.

• Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corp., of San Diego, said in vivo results of HspE7, its lead therapeutic vaccine candidate for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, showed that a single injection of the drug is capable of eliciting long-lasting memory CD8+ T cells and conferring protection against tumor challenges in mice lacking CD4+ functions. Data were published in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology and originated from a study undertaken to characterize the cellular anti-E7 immune response induced by HspE7 and to determine optimum dosing regimen for inducing antitumor immunity.

• PharmAthene Inc., of Annapolis, Md., said the Department of Health and Human Services has published an award notice designating $13,920,347 for PharmAthene to develop therapeutic agents for selected bacterial diseases. PharmAthene has not received an executed agreement from the government and expects to provide further information if and when such an executed agreement is received. PharmAthene's lead programs include Valortim for preventing and treating anthrax infection and Protexia for morbidity and mortality associated with exposure to chemical nerve agents.

• Pharmion Corp., of Boulder, Colo., and MethylGene Inc., of Montreal, said the European Medicines Agency and the European Commission have given orphan medicine status to MGCD0103, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor for treating Hodgkin's lymphoma. Positive preliminary data from a MGCD0103 Phase II monotherapy clinical trial in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2007 annual meeting in June. MGCD0103 is an orally administered, isotype-selective HDAC inhibitor. It is in two Phase I/II clinical trials, in combination with Vidaza for hematological malignancies and with Gemzar in solid tumors, and in four Phase II monotherapy clinical trials in hematological malignancies.

• Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Fremont, Calif., has signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Michigan Kresge Hearing Research Institute to begin preclinical studies of several new siRNA compounds for treating acute hearing loss associated with noise-induced trauma. The studies will target several different siRNA-based drug candidates that work by way of inhibition of Quark's target genes for preventing and treating acoustic trauma-induced acute hearing loss. The multi-stage, animal model study will assess the ability to deliver siRNA compounds to relevant cochlear cells in the inner ear.

• Summit Corp., of Oxford, UK, presented positive results from several studies that illustrated how its zebrafish can be used to assess the safety of potential drug candidates, including the screening of known drugs in a range of organs that are conserved between zebrafish and humans, such as the heart, eye and gut. Summit also highlighted additional, new aspects of its zebrafish technology platform, including an advanced automation facility that increases throughput of compound screening to produce faster analysis of efficacy and safety. The data were presented at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Safety Pharmacology Society in Edinburgh, Scotland.

• The Medicines Company, of Parsippany, N.J., said the FDA has accepted its supplemental new drug application for a modified dosing regimen of Angiomax (bivalirudin) for treatment of acute coronary syndromes, specifically in patients with unstable angina or nonsegment elevation myocardial infarction. The company expects the FDA to act on this filing in the second quarter of 2008. Angiomax is currently approved for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, commonly referred to as angioplasty.

• Velcura Therapeutics Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., said the pre-investigational new drug application meeting held with the FDA for VEL-0230 to treat bone disease included regulators' feedback that will "greatly assist" in filing the IND late this year. VEL-0230 is a new chemical entity that has dual-acting properties that both stimulates bone formation and inhibits loss.

• Verus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said its pediatric asthma development programs have been acquired by AstraZeneca plc, of London. Included in the transaction are the North American rights to a Captisol-enabled budesonide solution (controller medication), a short-acting beta agonist solution (rescue medication), a customized version of eFlow (nebulizer delivery device) for use with both medications, and other intellectual property and related assets from Verus. Under the terms of the agreement, Verus is to receive an up-front payment of $30 million, development expense reimbursements and a potential earn-out payment of $280 million. No further terms have been disclosed.