• BioBase GmbH, of Wolfenbuttel, Germany, said it received a three-year, €3 million (US$4 million) European Union research contract to develop technology to analyze complex disease mechanisms. The project, called Net2Drug, will be coordinated by BioBase and developed as a collaboration with several institutions and universities in Europe. The project's goal is to create a toolbox integrating cutting-edge bioinformatics, chemoinformatics and experimental methods to identify potential therapeutic targets.

• Boston Life Sciences Inc., of Hopkinton, Mass., paid BioAxone Therapeutic Inc., of Montreal, the final $7.5 million of a $10 million license fee for Cethrin. BLSI now has worldwide rights to Cethrin, and certain other compounds, to treat acute spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. Cethrin is a recombinant protein intended to facilitate the regrowth of axons following injury to the spinal cord. It has completed Phase I/IIa studies. The collaboration was announced in January. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 5, 2007.)

• BrainCells Inc., of San Diego, formed a research collaboration with H. Lundbeck A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, in which BCI will use its neurogenesis-based technology to screen central nervous system targets and compounds to determine whether they promote neurogenesis, the process by which pre-existing stem cells in the adult human brain produce new tissue. Lundbeck plans to advance any targets or compounds identified through development for CNS indications. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Cephalon Inc., of Frazer, Pa., filed for European approval of a fentanyl effervescent buccal tablet, which is marketed as Fentora in the U.S. If approved, the centralized filing would allow Cephalon Europe to market it in 29 European countries. The FDA cleared Fentora in September to manage breakthrough pain in cancer patients who have grown tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent pain.

• CytoGenix Inc., of Houston, said it entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Md. It plans to develop and test synDNA vaccines for the prevention of disease caused by the Ebola virus and several strains of equine encephalitis viruses. CytoGenix has developed a synthetic process for large-scale production of high-purity DNA , and an expression vector that enables production of ssDNA sequences inside the cell. Terms of the CRADA were not disclosed.

• Ichor Medical Systems Inc., of San Diego, said preclinical data reported at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans showed that a single administration of DNA encoding the anti-inflammatory protein interferon-beta using its TriGrid Delivery System reduced the development of plaque formation in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. The preliminary results broaden the support for using the electroporation-based TriGrid as an enabling platform technology to provide continuous endogenous production of therapeutic proteins from a patient's own muscle.

• Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, said the American Stock Exchange accepted its plan to regain compliance with continued listing standards. The stock will continue to be listed pursuant to an extension. The targeted completion date to regain compliance with the continued listing standards is April 16, 2008.

• Medistem Laboratories Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., entered a collaboration on its Tolerostem technology with Hao Wang, a researcher at Lawson Health Research Institute and an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario, both in London, Ontario. The deal covers preclinical research on Tolerostem, a technology designed to treat autoimmune diseases through reprogramming components of the immune system to stop attacking healthy tissue, while maintaining their role in fighting external pathogens. Terms were not disclosed.

• Omeris, of Columbus, Ohio, the state's biotech trade association, has changed its name to BioOhio. More than 750 bioscience-related entities are operating in Ohio, ranging from very large to very new.

• Peakdale Molecular Ltd., of Chapel-en-le-Frith, UK, entered an agreement with EnBioTec Laboratories Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, to co-develop nuclear receptor-based lead compounds for drug discovery. EnBioTec has developed the Receptor Cofactor Assay System to investigate the interactions between nuclear hormone receptors, co-factors and ligands. Peakdale will provide a targeted set of compounds for RCAS and functional assay testing and will work with EnBioTec to synthesize compounds based on the subsequent test results. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Quick-Med Technologies Inc., of Gainesville, Fla., said its compound ilomastat has been selected as the lead drug for development of a post-injury agent for sulfur mustard gas exposure in a recently funded grant from the National Institutes of Health. The University of Florida received about $2.6 million of an $18 million grant to complete two parts of the project, a joint effort with the Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute. One portion will analyze data collected at Lovelace to find the drug that best blocks skin, lung and eye damage from sulfur mustard exposure, for which ilomastat will be tested. The molecule was developed in a joint effort between Quick-Med and UF. Presently, there is no known treatment for a vesicant chemical attack, such as sulfur mustard gas.

• Redpoint Bio Corp., of Cranbury, N.J., signed a research and development collaboration and licensing agreement with Vernier, Switzerland-based Givaudan. They will work to discover and develop novel sweetness and savory enhancers, as well as bitter blocker compounds, for use in the food and beverage industry. Redpoint, which recently completed a reverse merger with Robcor Properties Inc., will receive an up-front payment of $1.3 million and research funding of up to $11.6 million over the initial 3.5-year term of the agreement. Redpoint also will be eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $2.5 million, as well as royalty payments on resulting sales.

• Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. paid $4.5 million to exercise exclusive licenses to specific targets and to extend the research term under the companies' existing antibody-drug conjugate collaboration signed in 2002. Under the terms, Genentech has rights to use Seattle Genetics' ADC technology with antibodies against selected targets and would be responsible for research, product development, manufacturing and commercialization activities. Seattle Genetics is entitled to receive fees, progress-dependent milestones and royalties. (See BioWorld Today, April 23, 2002.)

• Stem Cell Innovations Inc., of Houston, said it has started to validate a set of compounds in development by Leiden, the Netherlands-based Circomed AG for certain cardiovascular indications. Stem Cell will apply its human liver cell C3A to study compound effects for both safety and efficacy. Specific terms were not disclosed, though the collaboration is based on a fee-for-service arrangement.

• StormBio Inc., of Westfield, N.J., licensed technology related to treating life-threatening influenza and other inflammatory diseases from London-based Imperial Innovations Group plc. The technology is designed to target the body's overreaction of the inflammatory process, without shutting down the immune response. Imperial Innovations is the technology commercialization and investment company based at Imperial College London.

• Theranostics Health LLC, of Fairfax, Va., was formed by proteomics researchers from George Mason University. Its technology centers on measuring the activity of the actual protein drug targets in a patient's biopsy, a personalized medicine approach. Theranostics initially plans to work with pharmaceutical companies to identify drug targets and assess anticancer drugs during preclinical and clinical trials. In 2008, it plans to begin working with physicians and hospitals to apply its technology to patient care. Founders are Lance Liotta and Emanuel Petricoin, co-directors of Mason's Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine.