• AlphaVax Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., received FDA go-ahead to begin clinical testing of vaccines for influenza and cytomegalovirus (CMV) developed using the company's alphavaccine technology. The CMV alphavaccine, which contains three gene targets from CMV, will be tested first in healthy volunteers before testing in target populations, such as solid organ transplant recipients. Enrollment will begin next month. Patient enrollment in the first trial for an influenza alphavaccine, which contains the hemagglutinin gene from a single flu strain, will begin in April. Both projects are funded in part by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

• ArQule Inc., of Woburn, Mass., said it entered a $5 million sponsored research agreement with newly established Boston Biomedical Inc., of Boston. Chiang Li, chairman of ArQule's scientific advisory board, will transition to the position of CEO of Boston Biomedical. About 26 former employees of ArQule will join Li at BBI. BBI will conduct scientific research under an eight-month contract with ArQule that will include studies on mechanisms of action and biomarkers for ArQule's lead products.

• BioE Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center formed a research partnership to evaluate the potential of BioE's cord blood stem cell - the Multi-Lineage Progenitor Cell - to help treat cancer. They will study the technology's utility as an anti-tumor protein delivery vehicle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Denver, said that researchers from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University received $3.9 million in grants to test Cerashield to help find ways to reduce infections associated with artificial limbs. The work is being done with funds from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The investigational antimicrobial wound dressing is based on technology patented by Brigham Young University and exclusively licensed to Ceragenix. The work will be to test use of a novel infection prevention agent to avoid high infection rates for skeletal implants for amputees.

• CLEA Japan Inc. and In-Vivo Science Inc., of Tokyo, have partnered with Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, to generate, market and deliver genetically engineered mouse models for the Japanese market. The alliance combines Artemis' technology platform in mouse genetics and genomics with CLEA's and IVS's expertise in rodent breeding and distribution. The alliance will make mouse genomic and genetic technologies accessible to Japanese researchers. In particular, Artemis has developed and validated methods to modulate gene expression in a mouse in an inducible fashion; Artemis has the capability to replace mouse genes with its human orthologue and also has developed the capability to knock down gene expression using shRNA in a high throughput and rapid fashion.

• DURECT Corp., of Cupertino, Calif., has entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement with Hospira Worldwide Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill., for POSIDUR, DURECT's postsurgical pain management investigational drug. POSIDUR is a long-acting local anesthetic that is intended to be injected during surgery, where it continuously releases therapeutic levels of bupivacaine in a controlled fashion, providing up to 72 hours of local analgesia. Last November DURECT and Nycomed, of Roskilde, Denmark, signed a $202 million agreement to develop and commercialize POSIDUR in Europe and other select countries. POSIDUR is currently in Phase II clinical development. DURECT and Nycomed anticipate moving the program into Phase III in 2007. Under the agreement, Hospira's One 2 One contract manufacturing services will provide DURECT's clinical and commercial supplies of POSIDUR on a worldwide basis. The two parties have begun manufacturing development activities in accordance with the agreement.

• Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, and Tanox Inc., of Houston, have received a Request for Additional Information and Documentary Materials from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in connection with Genentech's proposed acquisition of Tanox. At a special meeting Jan. 15, 2007, Tanox stockholders voted to approve the merger agreement for Tanox and a wholly owned subsidiary of Genentech. The second request extends the waiting period imposed by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, the expiration of which is a condition to the completion of the acquisition. Genentech and Tanox continue to engage in discussions with the FTC and said they intend to cooperate fully with the FTC in its review of the proposed acquisition. The companies anticipate that the FTC's review could extend beyond the first quarter of 2007, and expect that the transaction will close within the first half of 2007, subject to the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

• Immunicon Corp., of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., entered two separate agreements with Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp., a subsidiary of Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG. The first establishes a collaboration to develop a family of biomarkers associated with circulating tumor cells that might be useful in determining the efficacy of certain cancer therapies in development by Novartis. The second agreement governs laboratory services that Immunicon will perform in connection with various cancer drug development programs. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Isotechnika Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, agreed to cancel its $40 million equity drawdown facility with Azimuth Opportunity Ltd. The companies entered the deal in May, which would have provided Isotechnika the chance to draw down cash as needed over a two-year period to help fund its ISA247 psoriasis development program. Company President and CEO Randall Yatscoff said that Isotechnika's recent bought deal financing makes its unlikely that the company "would draw down on the equity line in the near future."

• MetaMorphix Inc., of Beltsville, Md., and Hubbard SAS, a broiler breeding company and unit of Group Grimaud La Corbiere SA, of Roussay, France, entered an alliance to jointly develop a set of genomic markers for use in genetic programs at Hubbard. They will use MetaMorphix technologies to develop predictive genetic markers for desired broiler performance traits. MetaMorphix is entitled to royalties on revenues generated from the new breeds.

• OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Melville, N.Y., and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, said the European Commission granted marketing authorization for Tarceva (erlotinib) for use in combination with gemcitabine as a first-line therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer. The Tarceva-gemcitabine combination already is approved in that indication and others in the U.S and a number of other countries. Tarceva is a small molecule designed to target the human epidermal growth factor receptor 1 pathway.

• Pharmion Corp., of Boulder, Colo., received approval for its new drug application supplement to add intravenous use as a new route of administration to the instructions in the approved prescribing information for its DNA demethylating agent Vidaza (azacitidine for injection). Vidaza now can be given intravenously over a period of 10 minutes to 40 minutes in a clinic or hospital setting. The drug previously was approved for subcutaneous administration for myelodysplastic syndromes.

• Protein Polymer Technologies Inc., of San Diego, a biotechnology device company working on protein design and synthesis, has entered into a materials transfer agreement with the University of Arizona. Under the agreement, PPTI will provide genetically engineered protein polymers to the University of Arizona Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The University of Arizona plans to design, fabricate and test the properties of protein-based biomaterials and scaffolds for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine using PPTI's protein polymers. The agreement gives PPTI the first option to negotiate a worldwide exclusive or non-exclusive royalty-bearing license agreement for university's inventions or joint inventions enabled by the use of PPTI's protein polymers.

• Sanaria Inc., of Rockville, Md., received two multiyear Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to enhance the development of its whole parasite malaria vaccine. The Phase II grant is intended to establish multiple strains of the parasite that can be used to assess the effectiveness of Sanaria's malaria vaccine, and the Phase I grant is to develop additional methods for preserving the vaccine. The total first year award for both grants is $1.21 million, and subject to satisfactory progress, the grants could total up to $3.47 million.

• Sequenom Inc., of San Diego, and Lenetix Medical Screening Laboratory Inc., a Mineola, N.Y.-based provider of rapid genetic screening and diagnostic testing, have partnered to develop and commercialize a proprietary non-invasive prenatal Rhesus D incompatibility test based on Sequenom patent rights and RT PCR methodology. RhD blood group incompatibility between a pregnant woman and her fetus is a significant health problem due to the possibility of maternal alloimmunization and consequent hemolytic disease of newborns. Although the pregnancy in which alloimmunization first occurs results in an unaffected child, future children are at substantial risk of anemia and fetal death. In the U.S. alone, RhD incompatibility occurs in more than 10 percent of all pregnancies. The RhD test, Sequenom's first non-invasive prenatal test, is expected to be marketed as a home brew test in the U.S. in the first half of 2007. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Unigene Laboratories Inc., of Fairfield, N.J., will receive a $2.5 million payment to supply Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG with specified quantities of a bulk peptide necessary to support Novartis' osteoporosis drug development program. Under the terms, Unigene will use its manufacturing technology to develop an FDA-compliant process for the peptide, and Novartis will have the chance to purchase additional quantities as necessary. Financial details were not disclosed.