• Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said preclinical data reported at the Gordon Research Conference on myogenesis in Lucca, Italy, demonstrated the ability of ACE-031 to increase muscle mass and strength in normal mice and in murine models of muscular dystrophy. The compound is designed to inhibit negative regulators of muscle to increase muscle mass and strength as a potential treatment for neuromuscular diseases and cancer-related muscle loss.

• Amura Holdings Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, said its lead cathepsin K inhibitors for osteoporosis and bone metastasis demonstrated good in vivo safety profiles in a seven-day, repeat-dose toxicity study in rodents. They were well tolerated and no adverse histological effects were noted. The compounds are derived from the company's AMcore scaffold, which is used to design inhibitors against cysteine peptidases of the CAC1 family of cysteine peptidases that are involved in several diseases. Amura eventually plans to out-license its products for clinical development.

• Bioceros BV, of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and disposable bioreactor development company CELLution Biotech BV, of the Netherlands, said they will start a collaboration to manufacture high levels of recombinant proteins in the disposable CELL-tainer bioreactor, a bioreactor designed with superior gas exchange properties over conventional stirred tank reactors, which results in higher product yields using mammalian cells. Bioceros, which offers services involving the generation of high protein-producing mammalian cell lines and process development, will use CELL-tainer technology to provide sufficient amounts of recombinant proteins for preclinical testing. Terms were not disclosed.

• BioServe, of Beltsville, Md., and Seegene Inc., of Seoul, South Korea, partnered to develop and validate test systems for infectious diseases in the Indian market. Under the agreement, Seegene will access BioServe's repository of Indian DNA samples to collaborate on developing test systems for illnesses such as sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and HIV, and BioServe will offer diagnostic testing services using Seegene's Seeplex STD detection system for Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus 2 and human papillomavirus. Terms were not disclosed.

• GenVec Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md.; Maxygen Inc., of Redwood City, Calif.; and Osiris Therapeutics Inc., of Baltimore, are being added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, effective next Monday.

• MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., is expected to go before an advisory panel Wednesday regarding its application to market FluMist for children 1 to 5 years of age who do not have a history of wheezing or asthma. According to briefing documents released by the FDA, the live, attenuated flu vaccine, which currently is approved for prevention of flu in healthy subjects ages 5 to 59, was found to be highly efficacious in preventing flu and offered better cross-protection against mismatched strains of influenza compared to the standard trivalent influenza vaccine, though there was a statistically significant increase in protocol-defined wheezing with FluMist, mainly in children younger than 1 year. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is expected to make a recommendation to the agency following the panel hearing

• NanoViricides Inc., of West Haven, Conn., said results of recent animal studies against rabies showed a 30 percent survival rate in mice treated intracerebrally in two of the nanoviricides-treated groups and a 20 percent survival rate with another two nanoviricides. NanoViricides drugs in the studies were based on the broad-spectrum chemicals ligand class, rabies-specific receptor peptide ligand class and rabies-antibody-derived ligand class. Results also showed a 20 percent survival rate was found with two of those four nanoviricides, even on intraperitoneal treatment. All mice treated with human anti-rabies immunoglobulin died. Data were presented at the annual Symposium of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology in Tampa, Fla.

• New England Biolabs, of Ipswich, Mass., licensed the ERGO bioinformatics software developed and maintained by Integrated Genomics, of Chicago, and will use the genome-analysis tools for gene annotation, metabolic reconstruction and enzyme data-mining, as well as for comparative genomic purposes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Polyplus-transfection SA, of Strasbourg, France, obtained a €80,000 (US$108,338) grant from AFM (Association Franciase contre les Myopathies), France's Muscular Dystrophy Association. The grant will finance the cGMP-compliant production process of its in vivo-jetPEI reagent to enable its use in gene therapy. In vivo-jetPEI is a synthetic molecule designed to offer an alternative technology for gene therapy to the commonly used viral approach. Funding also covers the development of quality-control procedures and stability studies.

• Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said Wyeth, of Madison, N.J., filed for European approval of a subcutaneous formulation of methylnaltrexone for opioid-induced constipation, triggering a $4 million milestone payment to Progenics. The peripherally acting opioid-receptor antagonist is designed to treat the condition without interfering with pain relief. The application is based on Phase III studies that met all primary efficacy endpoints to a statistically significant degree. The companies, whose $400 million-plus worldwide agreement gives Wyeth worldwide rights to methylnaltrexone and an option for Progenics to co-promote the product in the U.S., filed a new drug application with the FDA in March. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 27, 2005, and April 2, 2007.)

• Quest PharmaTech Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said San Diego-based investment firm Paramount BioSciences LLC acquired multinational rights to Quest's SonoLight technology for dermatology applications. The deal gives Paramount access to a library of Hypocrellin B-derived photosensitizers that are activated by light or ultrasound energy sources. Designed around Hypocrellin B, a small molecule isolated from a parasitic fungus normally found in Chinese bamboo trees, the technology can be used for both dermatology and oncology indications. The lead compound, SL017, is a formulated topical gel aimed at treating acetinic keratosis and for hair removal. Under the terms, Paramount is responsible for dermatology-related development and commercialization activities outside of Canada. Another company, KHM Co. Ltd., has rights to develop SL017 as a cosmetic for hair removal in Asia and for acne in South Korea. Quest will receive an immediate up-front payment and be eligible for milestone in excess of $35 million, plus royalties on product sales.

• Stallergenes SA, of Antony, France, and CMC Biopharmaceuticals A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, entered an agreement to develop and supply recombinant Bet v 1 purified bulk. Bet v 1 is the protein that embodies most of the allergenicity of birch pollen. CMC will scale up the manufacturing of GMP purified recombinant Bet v 1 and produce batches for Phase III trials and commercial supply of Stallergenes' Oralair. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Stem Cell Therapy International Inc., of Tampa, Fla., said its common stock was approved for listing on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the ticker "SCII." Its stock closed Monday at 15 cents, down 3 cents.

• Validus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., acquired Marplan (isocarboxazid), a monoamine oxidase blocker for treating depression, from Oxford Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., of Totowa, N.J. Financial terms were not disclosed. Validus, a portfolio company of New York-based private equity firm Konanda Pharma Partners, was established specifically to acquire Marplan, a drug first introduced to the market in the 1960s by Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

• ValiRx plc, of London, extended the scope of the agreement between its subsidiary, Cronos Therapeutics Ltd., and Cancer Research Technology Ltd., a specialist oncology development and commercialization company owned by Cancer Research UK. The extended agreement allows for the addition of three new potential GeneICE compounds to the collaboration, which previously centered on one compound, and will investigate the potential of those compounds in halting the development and growth of cancerous cells by preventing the transcription of specific genes involved in tumorigenesis. Cronos' GeneICE technology is designed to enable the selective silencing of specific genes in humans and animals by targeted histone deacetylation leading to chromatin condensation. The GeneICE compounds under review by CRT could be relevant to the treatment of five cancers: ovarian, prostate, testicular, breast and pancreatic. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• VGX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Blue Bell, Pa., signed a license agreement with Baylor College of Medicine covering a range of growth hormone-releasing hormones and related intellectual property for application in humans. Under the terms, VGX will have exclusive worldwide rights to develop the technology for indications such as cachexia in cancer and HIV patients, as well as age-related disorders. That agreement broadens an existing relationship between VGX and Baylor. Terms were not disclosed.