• ActoGeniX NV, of Ghent, Belgium, was awarded a €3.07 million (US$4.2 million) grant from the Flanders government through IWT (Institute for Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders). That funding, along with the €20 million the company raised in venture capital earlier this year, will support the discovery and development of programs based on TopAct, a platform for targeted delivery of biopharmaceuticals. The IWT funding, which covers a two-year period, will allow ActoGeniX to accelerate its application of TopAct to develop therapies in the areas of gastrointestinal, autoimmune, allergy and metabolic diseases. Its lead program has tested successfully in a Phase I Crohn's disease trial and is expected to enter Phase II trials in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis next year.

• CardioVascular BioTherapeutics Inc., of Las Vegas, completed its preclinical research program assessing the effects of CVBT-141F, a protein-based drug candidate, in reducing brain damage due to stroke, and results from three independent animal studies demonstrated that the product significantly reduced the stroke-affected area in the brain as compared to control groups. Treated animals also had significantly less neurological defects as assessed by several behavioral tests.

• Circassia Ltd., of Oxford, UK, acquired ToleroTrans, anti-rejection technology for use in organ transplantation from the University of Birmingham in the UK for an undisclosed up-front payment, plus future milestones and royalties on product sales. The ToleroTrans approach mirrors Circassia's existing anti-allergy technology by using T-cell epitopes to down-regulate unwanted immune responses.

• Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, reported second-quarter non-GAPP earnings of $834 million, or 78 cents per share. The prior-year quarter's totals were $602 million and 56 cents per share. U.S. product sales were $2.149 billion, a 25 percent increase over the year-earlier quarter, while all sales were $2.443 million and operating revenues came in at about $3 billion. The company said it expects 28 percent to 32 percent growth in non-GAAP earnings per share for the full year, relative to 2006, for a range of $2.85 to $2.95. Second-quarter product sales totals include $582 million for Rituxan, $564 million for Avastin, $329 million for Herceptin, $209 million for Lucentis, $120 million for Xolair, $102 million for Tarceva, $94 million for Nutropin products, $67 million for thrombolytics, $55 million for Pulmozyme and $27 million for Raptiva. It also reported royalty revenues of $484 million in the quarter.

• ImmuneRegen BioSciences Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., signed a partnership with Uluru Inc., of Addison, Texas, to co-develop the combination of Uluru's hydrogel nanoparticle biomaterial and ImmuneRegen's Homspera into a potential wound-healing treatment. The companies will establish a joint steering committee to oversee the development product, and the partnership will include an undetermined number of in vitro and in vivo studies on the potential wound-healing effects of Homspera, to be underwritten by Uluru. The companies will consider entering a license agreement to take any developed wound-healing product to market. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

• LAB International Inc., of Montreal, changed its corporate name to Akela Pharma Inc. Akela shares are expected to start trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol "AKL." Akela is developing therapies for the inhalation and pain markets. It previously was agreed the LAB name would be kept by LAB Research, which was spun off last year.

• Labopharm Inc., of Laval, Quebec, completed a licensing and distribution agreement granting Paladin Labs Inc., of Montreal, the exclusive right to market and sell Labopharm's once-daily tramadol product in Canada. Labopharm will retain co-promotion rights. Under the terms, Labopharm will receive a transfer price on packaged product supply based on a percentage of the anticipated selling price, and also will receive up-front and milestone payments of up to $1.5 million. The companies expect the pain relief product to be launched in Canada this year.

• Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, signed a term sheet with Cardinal Health, also of Dublin, for the marketing and distribution of Lymphoseek on an exclusive basis in the U.S. Lymphoseek is a radioactive lymphatic mapping targeting agent in development by Neoprobe for use with handheld gamma detection devices, such as Neoprobe's neo2000 system, during sentinel lymph node biopsy. The company recently reported positive preliminary data from a Phase II trial of Lymphoseek and is preparing to submit a proposed Phase III protocol to the FDA. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Pharmasset Inc., of Princeton, N.J., said partner F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, started long-term chronic toxicology studies in two animal species as part of the companies' collaboration on R7128 in hepatitis C virus, triggering a $7.5 million milestone payment to Pharmasset. The primary objective of those studies is to assess the drug's safety when given for six months. R7128, a polymerase inhibitor, is in Phase I testing in both healthy volunteers and HCV-infected patients.

• Point Therapeutics Inc., of Boston, cut its work force from 33 employees to eight employees to conserve its remaining cash balance. The company estimates that the total charge for the reduction is about $260,000. Point Therapeutics intends to further reduce staff in the near future, eliminating most of the employment positions, and will replace its work force with a consulting team charged with helping the company seek a buyer or partner for its technology and related intellectual property and other assets. That reorganization follows a May recommendation by an independent data monitoring committee to halt two Phase III trials of its lead product and only clinical candidate, talabostat, in non-small-cell lung cancer after an interim analysis determined that neither trial was likely to meet the primary endpoint of median progression-free survival. The program subsequently was put on hold by the FDA. Talabostat, a pan-inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) enzyme, also has been studied in several Phase II trials in melanoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and pancreatic cancer. Shares of Point Therapeutics (NASDAQ:POTP) fell 4 cents Thursday, or 38.8 percent, to close at 7 cents. (See BioWorld Today, May 22, 2007.)

• SemBioSys Genetics Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, said it successfully developed commercial levels of apolipoprotein AI and its variant apolipoprotein AI (Milano) in safflower seed lines. Apo AI is believed to be the basis for a next generation of cardiovascular drugs and is a major component of high-density lipoprotein, or "good cholesterol." SemBioSys is developing its plant-produced Apo AI, which is designed to overcome manufacturing challenges of traditional fermentation-based technologies.

• Senomyx Inc., of San Diego, said its savory flavor ingredients received a positive review by the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, which determined that there were no safety concerns with the use of those ingredients in food. The JECFA determination facilitates the acceptance or approval of flavors for use in food in countries throughout the world.

• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, Md., submitted a supplemental new drug application to the FDA, seeking approval of a lower strength of lubiprostone (8 mcg) to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. Lubiprostone currently is approved as Amitiza for treating chronic idiopathic constipation in adults. Amitiza is marketed in the U.S. by Sucampo and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc., of Deerfield, Ill. The sNDA filing triggers a milestone payment to Sucampo. The company said efficacy of the prostone-based compound in IBS was proved in Phase III trials involving 1,171 adults.

• Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla., said its securities will begin trading today on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the ticker "VRAI." Viragen develops therapeutic proteins for cancer and viral diseases.

• Xechem International Inc., of New Brunswick, N.J., said board member Robert Swift will take on the role of chairman, president and CEO on an interim basis, replacing Ramesh Pandey, who will continue serving on the board. The company also is implementing a cost-cutting plan to increase the focus on its Nigerian operations, and will close its New Jersey headquarters, with the office operations moving to smaller, less expensive facilities. Xechem's recent focus has been directed toward the development and launch of Nicosan (to be marketed at Hemoxin in the U.S. and Europe) for sickle-cell disease.

• ZoBio BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said it will provide ligand discovery services in the field of fragment-based drug discovery to UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium. The agreement provides for initial ligand screening of UCB discovery targets. ZoBio will immobilize the targets and carry out ligand screening using its Target Immobilized NMR Screening technology.