• 3D Systems Corp., of Valencia, Calif., entered an exclusive agreement with Symyx Technologies Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., under which they will work on advanced materials with improved properties and performance for use in 3D Systems' rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing solutions. 3D Systems will fund research by Symyx into new materials. Symyx will apply its high-throughput research technologies to discover novel materials for 3D Systems, and 3D Systems will have exclusive rights to commercialize the discovered materials within its field of business and will pay royalties to Symyx.

• Aradigm Corp., of Hayward, Calif., said Defence R&D Canada extended a development program for the aerosolized delivery of liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin for bioterror-related anthrax. Specifically, the extension calls for additional funding of C$662,500 (US$587,650) from the government entity to execute a preclinical efficacy study of inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin for post-exposure prophylaxis against inhalational anthrax. The company is developing the same formulation for its cystic fibrosis program, which also is in the preclinical stages.

• Argos Therapeutics Inc., of Durham, N.C., entered an agreement with Beckman Coulter Inc., of Fullerton, Calif., granting Argos exclusive therapeutic-use rights for the soluble protein CD83, including for autoimmune disorders and transplant rejection. The patented therapeutic use of CD83 was filed initially by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Beckman Coulter gained license to it and under the latest agreement, retains rights to develop CD83 in diagnostics. Researchers working with Argos at the University of Erlangen in Germany discovered that CD83 is an immunosuppressant and able to inhibit paralysis in a model of multiple sclerosis in both an active and pre-treatment setting.

• Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported its first-quarter earnings. Total revenues were $611 million vs. prior year $588 million, an increase of 4 percent, driven mainly by Rituxan (rituximab) revenues of $183 million from its joint business arrangement with South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. (U.S. net sales of Rituxan increased 8 percent to $477 million, as reported by Genentech), and Avonex (interferon beta-1a) worldwide sales of $393 million. Its GAAP first-quarter diluted earnings per share were 36 cents. Non-GAAP EPS were 55 cents, which beat Thomson First Call consensus estimates of 48 cents per share. It had GAAP net income of $123 million in the first quarter. Revenues from other products were $13 million and royalties were $21 million. It gave a financial guidance of non-GAAP earnings per share for 2006 in the range of $1.95 to $2.10. The company's stock (NASDAQ:BIIB) fell 45 cents Wednesday to close at $43.63.

• Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., said the FDA's Cardio-Renal Advisory Committee was split on requiring more data for the company's new drug application for Cellegesic (0.4 percent nitroglycerin ointment), for reducing pain associated with anal fissures. Six committee members voted for approval, while six other called Cellegesic approvable pending another efficacy study.

• Cetek Corp., of Marlborough, Mass., entered an agreement to provide its natural products library for drug discovery work by Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas. Lexicon will screen the library, which contains more than 50,000 samples, against a specified number of targets from Lexicon's Genome5000 program, which uses its gene knockout technology to discover the physiological functions of 5,000 potential drug targets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Cytori Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, received a $1.5 million payment for the option it granted to Tokyo-based Olympus Corp. for exclusive right to negotiate an adipose-derived stem and regenerative cell commercialization collaboration, which would include distribution rights to the Celution system. As part of the agreement, signed in February, Olympus will conduct market research and pilot studies in collaboration with Cytori over a 12- to 18-month period.

• Emisphere Technologies Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said a federal court granted its application and ordered Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, to assign to Emisphere the patent application filed by Lilly in February 2002 for a patent on the use of Emisphere's technology with GLP molecules. The court reaffirmed its January ruling that the GLP patent application belonged to Emisphere under the terms of the agreements in effect between Lilly and Emisphere at the time the application was filed. In addition, a court statement said that Lilly's likelihood of success on appeal is not high, Emisphere said.

• Eurogentec SA, of Liege, Belgium, acquired a license to array patents developed by Edwin Southern, the founder of Oxford Gene Technology Ltd., of Oxford, UK. The intellectual property represents the fundamental patents covering the manufacture and use and marketing of oligonucleotide microarrays. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said the management and supervisory boards decided to increase its share capital against a contribution in cash from authorized capital, exempting pre-emptive rights. DZ Bank AG, of Frankfurt, Germany, will act as sole lead manager and offer 5.2 million new shares to institutional investors in Europe and the U.S., with proceeds from the offering to allow Evotec flexibility to develop its projects and target higher value creation before partnering. Evotec is developing a pipeline of central nervous system drugs to target insomnia and Alzheimer's disease.

• ImQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Frederick, Md., signed an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of a series of anticancer agents discovered and patented by Samjin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea. ImQuest will complete preclinical and clinical drug development programs for the agents; Samjin will retain the rights to manufacture and distribute FDA-approved cancer drugs from the series in The Republic of Korea. The piperazine series has been shown in both cell-based and small-animal model studies to have biological antitumor activities. Financial terms were not disclosed. The companies also have a deal on HIV candidates. (See BioWorld Today, March 1, 2006.)

• Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, of Boca Raton, Fla., signed an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, part of the Sanofi-Aventis Group, of Paris, to fractionate human plasma used to produce Imogam Rabies-HT (rabies immune globulin [human] USP heat treated), which provide passive protection when given immediately to individuals exposed to the rabies virus. Nabi will conduct the work at its Florida manufacturing facility and ship the partially manufactured product to Sanofi Pasteur for completion of production at its manufacturing facility in Lyon, France. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Salt Lake City, and Nycomed Group, of Roskilde, Denmark, said the European Commission granted marketing authorization for Preotact (parathyroid hormone [rDNA origin] for injection). Preotact is the European brand name for Preos, which NPS licensed to Nycomed in 2004 for development and marketing in Europe. Preotact is approved to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fractures. It will be launched in Europe later this year. NPS received an approvable letter for Preos from the FDA in March. (See BioWorld Today, March 13, 2006.)