• Alfacell Corp., of Bloomfield, N.J., said new data of Onconase (ranpirnase) against non-small-cell lung cancer demonstrated significant increases in tumor perfusion, without changes in blood flow of skeletal muscles, during the first 120 minutes after treatment. There also was a 20 percent decrease of lactate levels, caused by the removal of tumor acidic metabolites by Onconase. Onconase induced apoptosis in apoptosis-resistant A549 human NSCLC cells. The data were presented at the 14th annual meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine held in Seattle.

• AlphaRx Inc., of Markham, Ontario, entered a collaboration under which it will be responsible for the synthesis, characterization, formulation, analysis and production of a new class of compounds developed by Israel-based PharmaSeed Ltd. for the potential treatment of central nervous system disorders such as stroke and multiple sclerosis. The parties may create a joint venture for the commercialization of selected molecules that come out of the collaboration.

• Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Montreal, said the FDA granted fast-track designation to Shigamabs, the company's dual antibody product being developed to treat Shigatoxin-producing bacterial infections. Caprion anticipates moving Shigamabs into a pivotal Phase II/III trial by the first quarter of 2007. Hemolytic uremic syndrome may result from the infection, and there are no therapies available. Shigamabs is a single, intravenously administered product that consists of two monoclonal antibodies: caStx1 and caStx2.

• Cardium Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, received a favorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a patent suit with Arch Development Corp., an affiliate of the University of Chicago, and its licensee, Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, Mass. The latter two had appealed a prior ruling with respect to a series of patents and patent applications related to angiogenic treatments for coronary heart disease, including myocardial ischemia and angina. Cardium has an exclusive license to that intellectual property from the University of California.

• Celera Genomics Group, of Rockville, Md., the University of California at San Francisco, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and Brigham Young University said a paper published in the July edition of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology described two genetic markers associated with an increased risk for myocardial infarction. Neither of the gene variants, VAMP8 and HNRPUL1, previously has been associated with MI, but both were identified during a retrospective research study performed in samples from more than 2,000 individuals in three case-control studies.

• Cobalis Corp., of Irvine, Calif., named Gerald Yakatan its CEO to replace Chas Radovich, who will continue as the company's president and a member of its board. Most recently, Yakatan had been the president and CEO of Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego. Cobalis is focused on allergy and other atopic conditions.

• Kane Biotech Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, amended the terms of a private placement offering from April to sell up to about 2.2 million units at C55 cents (US50 cents) apiece for gross proceeds of up to C1.2 million. Each unit is made of one share and one half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant shall entitle its holder to purchase one share at C70 cents for 18 months from the warrant's issuance. Previously, the offering comprised 2 million shares at C60 cents each for gross proceeds of C1.2 million. All other terms remain the same. Kane Biotech is developing products to prevent and disperse bacterial biofilms.

• Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, was awarded a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command for the identification of targets that might be important in the development of drugs to prevent or treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The company will receive $2 million in funding for the one-year initial term of the grant. Lexicon will use its gene knockout technology to identify genes that lead to increased levels of mouse Smn protein. SMA is characterized by a mutation in the SMN1 gene that leads to neurodegeneration.

• Neurologix Inc., of Fort Lee, N.J., completed its private placement of $12 million of its newly created Series C convertible preferred stock priced at $35 per share. Each share is convertible into about 19.7 shares of common stock. Purchasers included the General Electric Pension Trust, the DaimlerChrysler Corp. Master Retirement Trust and certain funds managed by ProMed Management Inc. In addition, the company issued warrants to purchase 2.2 million shares of stock at an exercise price of $2.05 per share. Proceeds from the transaction are expected to be used for working capital and corporate purposes.

• Nonlinear Dynamics Ltd., of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, formed a co-marketing agreement with Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., to mutually promote and distribute integrated analysis solutions. The agreement is focused on synergies between the Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer lab-on-a-chip platform and Nonlinear's TL120 DM software. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Open Biosystems Inc., of Huntsville, Ala., said Bilbao, Spain-based CIC bioGUNE has joined its Open Access RNAi program by purchasing the whole-genome human retroviral shRNAmir library. The program provides affiliated researchers with access to the library, and allows CIC bioGUNE to freely distribute the library within the institution. Using the library, researchers can target any gene in the human genome with improved gene knockdown efficiency.

• Pfizer Inc., of New York, said the FDA approved its anti-smoking pill, Chantix (varenicline), which is designed to partially activate the nicotinic receptor and reduce the severity of cravings and withdrawal symptoms in smokers attempting to quit. Chantix's approval was based on clinical trial data showing that patients receiving a 12-week course of the drug nearly quadrupled the likelihood of quitting than those taking placebo, and nearly twice the likelihood of quitting than those taking buproprion. After one-year, about one in five patients who received the 12-week course of Chantix remained smoke-free. A marketing authorization application for Chantix is under review by the European regulatory agency.

• Prana Biotechnology Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, plans to move forward with a Phase IIa trial of PBT2 in Alzheimer's disease. The study will be conducted at several sites in Sweden and will evaluate the safety and tolerability of PBT2, as well as measures of the drug's mechanism of action and indicators of potential efficacy. It will commence enrollment in the fourth quarter, and results are expected by the end of 2007.

• Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, underwent a 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock, which began trading on a split-adjusted basis as "TGEND" and will do so for 20 trading days. The number of outstanding shares was reduced from about 98.5 million to about 9.85 million. The transaction is part of a program to maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, to maintain a minimum bid of at least $1 per share and improve the company's overall equity structure. On June 12, the shares will resume trading as "TGEN."

• UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, submitted a marketing authorization application for Cimzia (certolizumab pegol, CDP870), a subcutaneous injection for Crohn's disease. That submission followed a biologics license application filed with the FDA March 1. Cimzia is a PEGylated Fab fragment of a humanized anti-TNF alpha antibody and used a PEGylation delivery system developed by Nektar Therapeutics Inc., of San Carlos, Calif.