• 454 Life Sciences Corp., of Branford, Conn., said Yale University researchers, using the company's Genome Sequencer system, have determined the pathogenic content of A. baumannii, a bacteria responsible for infections that include pneumonia, meningitis and those of the urinary tract. An article published in Genes & Development reveals that A. baumannii devotes much of its genes to pathogenesis. Sequencing identified a large amount of foreign bacterial DNA incorporated into the A. baumannii genome and also helped identify virulence genes that lack homology with other known genes. Researchers said understanding the sequence of the genome is critical to understanding how it harms humans, and this will help in devising therapeutic agents to combat the disease.

• Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, entered a contract services agreement with Toronto-based Dalton Pharma Services for the manufacturing of preclinical tox materials, with the potential for cGMP production. The agreement relates to the company's P2X7 antidepressant candidate, which is set to enter preclinical development. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Biolex Therapeutics, of Pittsboro, N.C., presented data showing the production of full-length recombinant human plasmin (BLX-155) using the company's LEX System. Biolex said this is a milestone never achieved at commercially viable levels with any protein expression system. Plasmin is an enzyme in the human body that dissolves the fibrin component of blood clots. The development of a recombinant version of plasmin provides a potential best-in-class product profile for the company's BLX-155 drug candidate, it said. The data were presented at the 51st Annual Congress of the German Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research in Dresden, Germany.

• Eden Bioscience Corp., of Bothell, Wash., completed the sale of its harpin protein technology and substantially all the assets related to its agricultural and horticultural markets to Plant Health Care Inc., of Pittsburgh. The assets were sold for an adjusted purchase price of $2.2 million.

• ImQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Frederick, Md., was awarded a development grant of an undisclosed amount from the International Partnership for Microbicides for the advanced preclinical evaluation of pyrimidinedione drugs as topical microbicides. Specifically, the grant will be used to test three highly potent compounds to inhibit the transmission of HIV to women.

• Insert Therapeutics Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corp., of Pasadena, Calif., signed a definitive agreement for an exclusive, worldwide license to multiple second-generation epothilone anticancer drugs from R&D Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, of Martinsried, Germany. Insert will apply its Cyclosert nanoparticle drug transport system to select second-generation epothilones now in development at R&D. Promising candidates will be considered for full preclinical development. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Integrated Genomics Inc., of Chicago, filed a lawsuit against two former employees charging breach of their employment contracts, including breach of their noncompetition and nonsolicitation obligations, to protect its intellectual property. The company provides a range of products and services to support research in microbial genomics, biochemistry and gene expression.

• KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, entered an exclusive licensing agreement to take over development and marketing rights to GRT 203 from Grünenthal GmbH, of Aachen, Germany. The compound, in development for treating aconuresis (urinary incontinence) via the central nervous system, has successfully completed Phase I trials in healthy volunteers under Grünenthal's watch. KeyNeurotek is preparing for Phase II trials in patients with urinary incontinence and overactive bladder. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• KineMed Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., entered a collaboration to jointly validate its translational KineMarker technology with F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland. The technology measures the on-mechanism activity of compounds in whole body systems in animals and humans. In the collaboration, the partners will work to clinically validate a KineMarker of collagen synthesis, a dynamic therapeutic target underlying tissue fibrosis, in an undisclosed disease area. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said the six-month dosage form of its cancer drug Eligard has been launched in Germany. Previously, it only had been available in Germany and other European countries in one- and three-month dosages. Eligard is sold by Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, from which MediGene is entitled to a milestone payment of an undisclosed amount.

• Pharmion Corp., of Boulder, Colo., said the European Medicines Agency accepted for review its application for Thalidomide Pharmion (thalidomide) for the treatment of untreated multiple myeloma. The application, submitted in January, is based on a clinical data package comprised of four studies involving 1,400 patients, including one study that showed a 21-month survival advantage when Thalidomide was added to the standard of care. Pharmion is seeking approval of the drug in combination with melphalan and prednisone in elderly multiple myeloma patients or those ineligible for high-dose chemotherapy and in combination with dexamethasone for induction therapy prior to high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. Pharmion received marketing rights to the drug from Summit, N.J.-based Celgene Corp., which markets the product as Thalomid in the U.S.

• Pluristem Life Systems Inc., of New York, said it has evidence that its PLX cells are immunosuppressive and immune privileged, characteristics that could lead to breakthroughs for treating hematopoietic cancers and immune diseases. The PLX cells, which are placental-derived mesenchymal stem cells expanded with Pluristem's 3D PluriX technology, showed immune suppression characteristics during in vitro testing using a Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction assay.

• Samaritan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Las Vegas, closed its acquisition of Bethesda, Md.-based Metastatin Pharmaceuticals Inc. The deal, announced in July, adds Metastatin's lead drug candidate, a preclinical-stage recombinant uteroglobin for epithelial cell cancers, to Samaritan's pipeline. Terms were not disclosed. (See BioWorld Today, July 28, 2006.)

• Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, has filed an investigational new drug application for SNS-3314, an anticancer candidate. SNS-314 is a targeted small molecule that selectively inhibits the Aurora kinases, key enzymes involved in cancer cell growth and division, and which have a central role in the abnormal growth and proliferation of tumor cells. The company said the compound has exhibited strong anti-proliferative activity across a number of different tumor models, and it expects to begin treating patients with advanced solid tumors in the second quarter.

• Vivalis, of Nantes, France, granted Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth, rights to the embryonic stem cell-derived EBx cell lines for evaluation in the production of viral vaccines. Vivalis said its chicken and duck EBx cell lines could provide an alternative to embryonated eggs for the industrial viral vaccine production. Terms were not disclosed.

• Vyteris Holdings, of Fair Lawn, N.J., has entered into a letter of intent to buy Lehigh Valley Technologies Inc., of Allentown, Pa., a specialty pharmaceutical company. LVT is a cGMP manufacturer with solid and liquid dosage capabilities. It currently manufacturers 10 prescription drugs in the pain management and urology areas. It also expects to launch five liquid prescription products during 2007. LVT currently has more than 20 prescription products in various areas of development and is evaluating an abuse-resistant technology for its pain products. The company will operate as a separate subsidiary of Vyteris.