• Ablynx, of Ghent, Belgium, announced positive interim results from the ongoing Phase I study of its lead development program, ALX-0081, an anti-thrombotic treatment. ALX-0081 is a first-in-class therapeutic nanobody targeting von Willebrand Factor (vWF), which can reduce the risk of thrombosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Final results are anticipated to be available by the end of September.

• Acrongenomics Inc., of Geneva, Molecular Vision Ltd., of London, and Pearson Matthews Ltd., of Surrey, UK, joined forces to design a fully manufacturable, prototype, point-of-care medical diagnostic device to detect kidney and cardiac biomarkers. The basis for the device will be Molecular Vision's technology using organic light emitters and photodetectors, coupled with microfluidics. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Algeta ASA, of Oslo, Norway, established a research collaboration with an undisclosed partner to discover radio-immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment. The collaboration is aimed at utilizing Algeta's TH-1 technology to link alpha-emitting thorium-227 to tumor-selective antibodies developed by the partner. The two parties will jointly manage a feasibility study. Further terms were not disclosed.

• Amphion Innovations plc, of London, raised £2.1 million (US$4.2 million) in a placing of 9.7 million shares at £0.22 per share. The money will be used to invest in new and existing start-ups. Richard Morgan, CEO of Amphion subscribed for 3.6 million of the shares and will own 18.2 percent of the company on completion.

• Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd., of Shenzhen, China, said a research team at its collaborating hospital in Shenyang completed a study assessing clinical efficacy, safety and feasibility of transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells for patients with peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremities. Results from the 152-patient study showed that, at 12 weeks, primary symptoms, including lower limb pain and coldness, were improved significantly in 137 (90.1 percent) of those treated. Limb ulcers improved or healed in 46 (86.6 percent) of the 53 patients, while 25 of the 48 patients (47.9 percent) with limb gangrene remained steady or improved. The patients had no severe adverse effects or complications related to cell transplantation. Data were published in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.

• BioWisdom Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, announced a three-year agreement with AstraZeneca plc. of London, for BioWisdom's Safety Intelligence Program, a method for assessing drug safety risk at early stages of drug discovery. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc, of Cambridge, UK, said a paper published in CNS Drugs further supports the hypothesis that a catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor that acts in the brain would be a useful agent to address profound cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. CeNeS has a discovery program to develop novel COMT inhibitors with a program currently focused on drugs for treatment of Parkinson's disease. The company also drew attention to the publication of two papers that support the differentiation of its lead product, M6G, a morphine derivative, from morphine. M6G is not metabolized in the body and is excreted intact by the kidneys, whereas morphine is extensively metabolized by the liver. One paper reports that impaired metabolism of morphine after major liver surgery may lead to an increase in sedation and respiratory depression, the second that of 21 regularly used drugs, 10 inhibited the metabolism of morphine by human liver samples.

• DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, published a paper in Nature with several academic collaborators regarding the discovery of two single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to a 70 percent and 40 percent increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation. The variants are located on chromosome 4q25 near the PITX2 gene, which plays a role in the development of the heart. DeCode also launched a reference laboratory test for the variants, dubbed deCODE AF.

• Enceladus Pharmaceuticals BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Clinquest Group, also of Amsterdam, signed an investment and collaboration agreement under which Clinquest acquired a stake in Enceladus and led a syndicate of investors to provide additional funding. Financial details were not disclosed, but Enceladus said it will use the funds to support ongoing clinical development of its anti-inflammatory drug, Nanocort, in rheumatoid arthritis. Nanocort, which consists of corticosteroids packaged in specifically designed small lipid vesicles, also is being invested in multiple sclerosis and certain types of cancer.

• Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and SunGene GmbH, of Gatersleben, Germany, announced a collaboration to develop next-generation enabling technologies for the precise bioengineering of crops. The deal is supported under the Israel-Germany BioDisc program, which aims to intensify contacts between the countries in areas such as future technologies with high potential. Terms were not disclosed.

• Galapagos, of Mechelen, Belgium, is expanding its osteoarthritis alliance with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London. Galapagos has issued 513,281 new shares for an investment of €4.4 million (US$5.9 million) by GSK. GSK will bring a drug discovery program against a selected GSK target into the alliance. Within this additional program, Galapagos will progress a disease-modifying drug toward completion of clinical Phase IIa proof of concept, at which point GSK's will be responsible for the late-stage development, production and marketing. Galapagos said GSK may add a second osteoarthritis drug discovery program against a selected GSK target into the alliance.

• Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reached its first development milestone in its collaboration with London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc for the development of ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) by reporting positive efficacy results in a Phase II study in rheumatoid arthritis earlier this month. Achievement of that milestone triggered a payment of DKK116.3 million (US$20.8 million). Genmab licensed exclusive worldwide rights to co-develop and commercialize ofatumumab to GSK in a December deal valued at up to $2.1 billion.

• Hutchison China MediTech Ltd. (Chi-Med), of Shanghai, China, announced positive results for a Phase II proof-of-concept study for HMPL-004 in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. HMPL-004 was well tolerated and showed an equivalent drop in symptoms with the comparator drug, Mesalazine, the current first-line standard of care.

• Karo Bio AB, of Huddinge, Sweden, extended its atherosclerosis collaboration with Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth for an additional year until Aug. 31, 2008. The companies began collaborating in 2001 and extended the agreement for a year in August 2005 and again in August 2006. The goal of the collaboration is to characterize backup compounds and evaluate additional clinical possibilities of targeting LXR, a hormone receptor that regulates cholesterol metabolism. Wyeth began Phase I trials with a lead LXR compound in August 2006.

• Oxford BioMedica, of Oxford, UK, and its partner Sigma-Aldrich, of St. Louis, have signed a joint license agreement for Oxford BioMedica's LentiVector gene delivery technology with an un-named U.S. biotechnology company, Financial details were not disclosed.

• Plethora Solutions Holdings plc, of London, raised £4 million (US$8.1 million) in a secured loan from ETV Capital SA, allowing Plethora to complete the clinical development and U.S. filing of Invicorp, a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The FDA has confirmed the path to submission of the NDA for Invicorp and registration studies will start later this year and run for 15 months. The U.S. launch is expected to take place before the end of 2009.

• Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, agreed to a new loan from Christopher Pearce, the CEO, under which he will increase the existing loan facility from £4 million (US$8.1 million) to £6 million. The loan, on identical terms to the agreement signed on 29 June, 2000, carries interest at 2.5 percent above the bank base rate. The funding will allow the company to complete outlicensing of its proteomics biomarker technologies.

• PSivida Ltd., of Perth, Australia, entered an agreement with an undisclosed global medical device company to evaluate cardiovascular delivery of drugs using pSivida's drug delivery technologies. The agreement follows the expiration of a previous evaluation deal with the same company. Terms were not disclosed.

• Tecan Switzerland AG, of Mannedorf, Switzerland, and the Monash Antibody Technologies Facility at Monash University in Australia, have partnered to create a monoclonal antibody production system, which will be based around multiple integrated liquid handling workstations and will fully automate all the stages of the production process. The system will be partially funded by the Victorian State Government and Monash University, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Australian Stem Cell Centre. Tecan will be the system at the company's headquarters in Mannedorf, ready for installation in April 2008.

• VASTox plc, of Oxford, UK, has agreed to a series of pilot screening agreements with Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany; Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., and Servier SA, of Paris. Together, the deals will bring in more than €300,000 (US$408,987) in service revenues during 2007. VASTox will use its zebrafish platform to blind-screen selections of known compounds for safety and toxicity, to validate that the technology can predict unwanted side effects. The company said it aims to develop these relationships into higher-value, longer-term partnerships.