• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it intends to sell 4.7 million shares of common stock. Proceeds are expected to support general corporate purposes, including research and development, clinical trials, general and administrative expenses and potential acquisitions to complement its business. Banc of America Securities LLC is underwriting the offering and will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 705,000 shares to cover overallotments. Shares have not yet been priced. Alnylam's stock (NASDAQ:ALNY) closed at $22.08 Tuesday, down $1.60.

• Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Denver, completed the private sale of an aggregate of $5 million in convertible debentures and warrants. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. served as the lead placement agent. Proceeds will be used to fund the company's development activities and for general corporate purposes. Ceragenix develops anti-infective drugs based on its Ceragenin compound class and owns exclusive rights to Barrier Repair Technology for treating dermatological disorders.

• Depomed Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., received a commitment of up to $30 million in common stock equity financing from Azimuth Opportunity Ltd. Funds may be drawn down from time to time in stock offerings at Depomed's discretion over the next 24 months, and net proceeds from those offerings are expected to be used for clinical trials, research and development, marketing and general and administrative expenses. Depomed develops oral products and extended-release formulations of existing products using its AcuForm drug delivery technology.

• Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., granted rights to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) and CONRAD to develop, manufacture and, if proved efficacious, arrange for distribution in resource-limited countries of tenofovir as a microbicide to prevent HIV infection. Tenofovir gel is in Phase II testing through the National Institutes of Health's HIV Prevention Trials Network. Under the terms, Gilead will provide to both IPM and CONRAD a royalty-free license to develop and distribute tenofovir as a microbicide in about 100 resource-limited countries hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. Gilead also agreed to facilitate product manufacturing by third-party contract manufacturers to supply ongoing studies for two years.

• MannKind Corp., of Valencia, Calif., completed a public offering of 20 million shares priced at $17.42 each, raising $384.4 million. Underwriters maintain an option to purchase up to an additional 3 million shares to cover any overallotments. The company reported a concurrent public offering of $115 million aggregate principal amount of 3.75 percent senior convertible notes due 2013, including $15 million aggregate principal amount of notes sold pursuant to the full exercise of an overallotment option granted to the underwriters. JP Morgan Securities Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. are acting as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners of each of the public offerings, and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC, CIBC World Markets Corp. and Leerink Swann & Co. Inc. are serving as co-managers of the common stock offering. MannKind, which focuses on products for diseases such as diabetes and cancer, is in Phase III trials with its lead product, Technosphere Insulin System, in diabetic patients.

• Phylonix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., received a $500,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation to assess potential toxic effects of chemicals on the development of human organs and tissues using a panel of assays performed in zebrafish. Using the company's ZETAX panel of assays, it will study the effects of compounds on morphology, organ development, neurons and cell death.

• Sangamo BioSciences Inc., of Richmond, Calif., entered an agreement with City of Hope, a biomedical research facility and comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, Calif., for intellectual property related to a chimeric immunoreceptor useful in treating cancers. Sangamo and COH also agreed to collaborate on a cell therapy program combining that technology with Sangamo's zinc finger DNA-binding protein nuclease platform for drugs against glioblastoma multiforme. Terms call for Sangamo to pay COH and up-front license fee and annual maintenance fees, and COH also is eligible for milestones, royalties and a portion of any revenue Sangamo might recognize from sublicensing agreements.

• Schwarz Pharma AG, of Monheim, Germany, said it transferred project rights from a 2003 urology research cooperation to 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, following the company's new strategic positioning. The collaboration aimed to create drugs for urological illnesses, and has resulted in a lead compound, SC76803, which now will be taken by 4SC through development until it is ready for a marketing partner. Schwarz completed the transfer in exchange for a share in potential license earnings in an undisclosed amount.

• Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, nonexclusively licensed two patents in its AAV portfolio to Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for the use of AAV1 in the development and commercialization of therapeutic products against Type 1 and Type V lipoprotein lipase deficiencies. AMT is conducting Phase II trials of AMT-011, an AAV1-based therapy. Under the license terms, Targeted Genetics will receive an up-front payment of $1.75 million, plus milestone payments and royalties on any product sales.

• Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said its new drug application for EvaMist was accepted for review by the FDA for treating vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. The NDA was based on positive Phase III results showing a statistically significant reduction in the number and severity of moderate and severe hot flashes for all three doses of EvaMist, a once-a-day transdermal spray that delivers estradiol.