• BioSystems International, of Evry, France, appointed Jean-Pierre Tirouflet CEO in place of Laszlo Takacs, co-founder of the company who remains chief scientific officer. Tirouflet was previously chairman and CEO of the French specialty chemical company Rhodia.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, licensed its PER.C6 cell production technology to the animal health division of Pfizer Inc., of New York, for use in the manufacture of a veterinary vaccine. The license is for research use, but may be converted into a commercial agreement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Evolutec Group plc, of Reading, UK, signed a new option covering the animal health uses of its vaccine technology with the existing licensee, Merial Ltd., allowing Merial time to complete studies commenced in 2006. It also builds on the positive results announced in 2005 in which Merial demonstrated that Evolutec's vaccine technology significantly reduced the level of Boophilus tick infestation in cattle, a cause of major productivity losses due to disease transmission, hide (skin) damage and anaemia. The agreement grants Merial a 12-month option to acquire exclusive worldwide rights to Evolutec's vaccine technology to animal health uses in return for licensing and milestone fees and a royalty on sales. Detailed financial terms were not disclosed.

• Genetic Technologies Ltd. (GTG), of Victoria, Australia, granted a nine-year license to its non-coding DNA patents to Sciona, of Boulder, Colo. GTG is Australia's largest genetic testing laboratory, while Sciona provides personalized genetic tests in the United States. Terms of the license were not disclosed.

• Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it has started a research cooperation with the Danish Head and Neck Cancer Group (DAHANCA), under which Genmab will supply the fully human antibody HuMax-EGF (zalutumumab) to a Phase III front line study of approximately 600 head and neck cancer patients. The study will be financed and run by DAHANCA, which is also responsible for negotiating the study protocol with authorities. Genmab has all the rights to regulatory use of both data from the study.

• Kedrion SpA, of Lucca, Italy, and ProMetic BioTherapeutics Inc., a subsidiary of Montreal-based ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., formed an alliance to develop orphan drugs derived from human plasma using ProMetic's manufacturing process, the Plasma Protein Purification System. They plan to select specific proteins that can be manufactured into drugs that either have received orphan drug designation or have the potential to receive it. The PPPS technology, which was co-developed with The American Red Cross, can be applied to the recovery of certain proteins that have established therapeutic value but cannot be extracted effectively via current manufacturing practices, or that are not the focus of large plasma fractionators. ProMetic and Kedrion will share in any revenue derived from the sales of commercialized therapeutics. They initially will target Europe. Specific terms were not disclosed.

• Medivir AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said a completed share issue by Epiphany Biosciences Inc., of San Francisco, its licensing partner for the shingles project MIV-606 (also known as EPB-348), has led to Medivir obtaining shares in Epiphany corresponding to a 2 percent ownership in the company. U.S. and international institutions including Wexford Capital, Windsor Bay Capital, Global Trust Ventures, China Development Industrial Bank, and other investors have invested in the new share issue, which raised $36 million. The share issue proceeds will be used for the continued development of MIV-606 and Epiphany's other discovery and development programs. Medivir also received a milestone payment of $500,000 from Epiphany, as stipulated in the license agreement made in September 2006.

• Sinclair Pharma plc, of Godalming, UK, said it is stepping up from London's junior Alternative Investment Market, to the main market, and intends also to list its shares on Euronext in Paris.

• Vernalis plc, of Winnersh, UK, and Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of Chadds Ford, Pa., said the FDA is requiring an additional three months to review Endo's supplemental new drug application for Frova (frovatriptan succinate) 2.5 mg tablets for the expanded indication of short-term prevention of menstrual migraine. The agency now anticipates completing its review of this application on or before Aug. 19. The original PDUFA date was May 19. The companies said the request relates to the presentation of the data, rather than content, and that no additional data have been requested.