• 454 Life Sciences Corp., of Branford, Conn., a member of the Basel, Switzerland-based Roche Diagnostics Division group, and a Yale School of Medicine researcher said they used the company's Genome Sequencer system to identify previously undetectable rare drug-resistant HIV variants in samples from an earlier performed clinical trial. Results showed that the fraction of patients that harbored resistance mutations is at least twice as high as previously thought, since most low level mutations are undetectable by existing resistance testing methods. The additional variants detected by Ultra Deep sequencing were found to enable the prediction of early antiretroviral treatment failure with strong statistical significance.

• Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, presented preclinical results for its I-3D program at the annual European League Against Rheumatism conference. Data showed I-3D had a significant inhibitory effect on disease development in an experimental model for rheumatoid arthritis, and an additive inhibitory effect on disease development was achieved when combined with methotrexate. The compound is a small-molecule inhibitor of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. It is being developed in collaboration with Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd., of Charlotte, N.C. A drug candidate is expected to be selected this year.

• Amarillo Biosciences Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, said the Texas Tech University Health Services Center's School of Medicine granted funding for a study on oral interferon therapy for chronic cough in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The undisclosed funding will be available Sept. 1, 2007, and Amarillo expects immediately to begin preparing an investigational new drug application.

• Celera, a Rockville, Md., business of Applera Corp., and academic collaborators are publishing a paper describing a novel variant of the LPA gene that is associated with an approximate threefold increased risk of severe coronary artery disease. The paper is scheduled to appear in the September 2007 edition of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, and now is available on the journal's web site. The new risk variant encodes an amino acid change in the protease-like domain of apolipoprotein, a protein component of Lp. Based on samples from 3,000 subjects, carriers of the risk variant (about 4 percent of the study population) had about a threefold increased risk for severe CAD and had fivefold higher Lp levels in their blood.

• Clinical Data Inc., of Newton, Mass., said its Cogenics division implemented a Luminex xMAP multiplexing system from Luminex Corp., of Austin, Texas. CDI said the system will be used to expand its genotyping service offerings and advance its clinical and agricultural genotyping franchises.

• DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, said it reached a favorable settlement of its litigation in Federal District Court in Philadelphia with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and several former DeCode employees who left the company to work for the hospital. The parties will exchange mutual releases, and the litigation will be dismissed with prejudice, DeCode said. The hospital and the individual defendants have certain undisclosed obligations to DeCode, the company said.

• EpiCept Corp., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said studies demonstrated that Azixa (MPC-6827) was effective in treating multiple types of human tumors in animal models, revealed a mechanism by which MPC-6827 exerts its effects, and showed that MPC-6827 is not affected by cellular proteins known to be involved in cancer drug resistance. Study results appeared in the June 15, 2007, edition of Cancer Research. MPC-6827 is believed to exert its effects by the binding of tubulin, thereby inhibiting polymerization and leading to cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, owns rights to the product, which is being tested in two Phase II trials. EpiCept's stock (NASDAQ:EPCT) gained 23 cents Friday, or 10.6 percent, to close at $2.41.

• MitoPharm Corp. Inc., of Seattle, said additional findings were published in a research paper on the biochemical mechanisms of Schisandrin B. Results indicated Schisandrin B can induce heat-shock protein production in the heart, which partly explains the mechanism involved in the protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Schisandrin B is an active ingredient of the Schisandra berry, which traditionally is used as cardiotonic. Earlier studies demonstrated the product protects against myocardial I-R injury through enhancing tissue glutathione antioxidant status.

• Perlegen Sciences Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., completed the collection of more than 3,000 DNA samples from diabetic patients treated with Actos (Takeda) and Avandia (GlaxoSmithKline) to analyze the genetic variability associated with adverse events due to treatment with medications of the TZD (thiazolidinediones) class of insulin sensitizers. Perlegen will use those samples to identify genetic variations that might contribute to a patient's risk. The company has licensed its own Phase III-stage TZD from Mitsubishi Pharma Corp., of Osaka, Japan, for development in diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

• VGX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Blue Bell, Pa., said its publicly traded Korean affiliate, VGX International Inc., was added to the KOSPI 200 Index, a capitalization-weighted index of 200 Korean stocks that make up 93 percent of the total market value of the Korea Stock Exchange. VGX Pharmaceuticals has been the controlling shareholder of VGX International since 2005, and the companies are co-developing VGX-1027, a drug compound for Type I diabetes.