• BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of Novato, Calif., said the FDA granted marketing approval for Orapred ODT (prednisolone sodium phosphate orally disintegrating tablets). The company entered a licensing and acquisition agreement in March with Alliant Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., in which BioMarin receives $7.5 million upon FDA approval, and is entitled to $4 million upon commercial launch, another $4 million on the first anniversary of approval and royalties ranging from 25 percent to 30 percent. (See BioWorld Today, March 17, 2006.)

• CombinatoRx Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., stands to receive up to $13.8 million in research expenses through a collaboration to discover and develop new therapeutics built from synergistic drug combinations to treat cystic fibrosis with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc., the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, Md. CFFT also will fund up to 75 percent of CombinatoRx's clinical development expenses through Phase IIa on the first product, provided both parties agree to commence clinical development. In addition, CombinatoRx will retain full worldwide commercialization rights, receive payments for milestones achieved and own new intellectual property generated. CFFT will be eligible to receive royalties.

• EvoGenix Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, entered a technology collaboration agreement with CSL Ltd., of Victoria, Australia, in which EvoGenix will apply its technologies to antibody products supplied by CSL. For its work, EvoGenix will receive research payments. In addition, each project carries a success payment for achievement of project goals, as well as milestone payments. CSL will have the right to commercialize the products, with EvoGenix to receive royalty payments.

• Life Science Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Greenwich, Conn., acquired an exclusive worldwide license to three monoclonal antibodies for cancer and autoimmune diseases from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in New York. One targets an epitope in the epidermal growth factor receptor, another targets the fibroblast activating protein present on the surface of tumor stroma cells and the third antibody targets colorectal cancer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Murex Pharmaceuticals, of Dallas, signed an agreement with Gene Network Sciences in Ithaca, N.Y., to develop cancer therapeutics using GNS' technology to create computer-based models that enhance identification and validation of cancer targets. Murex will then design shRNA-based vaccines to stop the cancer growth. Terms were not disclosed.

• Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., acquired an exclusive worldwide license to WQ-3034, a broad spectrum quinolone antibiotic, and all formulations of the compound, from Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan. Rib-X also has the right to sublicense WQ-3034, which was identified at Wakunaga and has been in Phase II testing. It has exhibited activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, including strains resistant to currently available fluoroquinolones. Wakunaga received an undisclosed up-front fee and would receive milestones payments, plus royalties.

• TransnetYX Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., said its rapid-turnaround mouse genotyping service would be used by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. TransnetYX's automated system will provide online reporting of genotyping results to research labs in as little as 24 hours through a process that is far less labor intensive than the polymerase chain reaction technique. The trial program, in which more than 70 of the organization's scientists are using the TransnetYX service, operates on a 72-hour timeline. Financial terms were not disclosed.