• Cephalon Inc., of Frazer, Penn., reported 2006 revenues of $1.76 billion, a 46 percent increase over the prior year, resulting in basic income of $2.39 per common share. The company reported adjusted sales of $1.71 billion, a 48 percent increase over 2005. Cephalon, which operates in the central nervous system, pain, oncology and addiction arenas, said excluding amortization and other items, basic adjusted income per common share was $5.54, a 92 percent increase over 2005, and 34-cents higher than the company's guidance.

• Critical Therapeutics Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said Beckman Coulter Inc., of Fullerton, Calif., has exercised an option to continue licensing patent rights for High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) technology to develop an immunoassay to detect and diagnosis inflammatory diseases. Beckman Coulter paid an unspecified product development fee and has agreed to begin formal product development of an HMGB1 diagnostic. Critical Therapeutics is entitled to a milestone payment on the first commercial sale of a licensed product and royalties on net sales of licensed products by Beckman Coulter. HMGB1 is a potential late mediator of inflammation-induced tissue damage that is expressed much later in the cascade and persists at elevated levels for a longer period of time.

• Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings, of Burlington, N.C., and ARCA Discovery Inc., of Denver, agreed to exclusively collaborate to develop a commercial genetic test to aid in the prescribing of bucindolol, a genetically-targeted heart failure drug in development by ARCA. ARCA plans to seek regulatory approval for bucindolol this year, and the genetic test is expected to be developed in parallel with the drug approval process. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• MGI Pharma, of Minneapolis, and partner Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, said a five-year U.S. patent extension has been granted for Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) injection. Aloxi is approved for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderate and highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy.

• Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to SGN-33 in acute myeloid leukemia and to SGN-35 in Hodgkin's disease. SGN-33 (lintuzumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD33, is expected to move into two combination trials this year, including a Phase II study with low-dose chemotherapy in older AML patients. SGN-35 is an antibody drug conjugate designed to link an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody to the synthetic drug payload monomethyl auristatin E. It is in Phase I testing in Hodgkin's disease.

• Sequenom Inc., of San Diego has acquired exclusive rights in certain areas to noninvasive prenatal diagnostic intellectual property from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The property expands on the company's portfolio of patent rights relating to noninvasive prenatal genetic analysis methods using fetal nucleic acids obtained from maternal serum or plasma. As part of the agreement, Sequenom also obtained exclusive rights to a portfolio of methylation and nucleic acid markers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The rights apply to the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, as well as nonexclusive rights to China.

• VASTox plc, of Oxford, UK, signed two long-term genomics deals with a combined value of $1 million. The first deal involves the generation of a screening model for osteoarthritis in collaboration with Italian firm Rottapharm SpA, which is worth up to $365,000 in up-front fees and research funding milestones over a 12-month period. The second deal, with an unnamed European biotech firm, will involve VASTox's medicinal chemistry expertise and experience in a research collaboration to support of the client's drug discovery programs. For that work, VASTox could receive up to $635,000 over 10 months.