• Adolor Corp., of Exton, Pa., and GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, said enrollment in a Phase III trial to evaluate the oral drug Entereg (alvimopan) has been completed. Entereg is being developed to treat gastrointestinal events caused by opioids used for persistent noncancer pain. Enrollment of a Phase IIb study in cancer patients with persistent pain also has been completed. The companies said enrollment was completed earlier than expected, and they plan to file an NDA and MAA in mid-2007.

• Aldagen Inc., of Durham, N.C., said the FDA cleared an IND application to conduct a clinical trial using its Aldesort product to isolate a unique stem cell population for therapy for critical limb ischemia patients. It will be the first clinical trial involving this cell population for therapy for critical limb ischemia patients in the U.S., it said The trial will involve 20 patients, all of whom will have bone marrow extracted. Ten patients will receive multiple injections of the bone marrow directly into muscle in the ischemic leg, and 10 patients will receive multiple injections of stem cells isolated from the bone marrow using Aldesort. Endpoints will include safety and the ability of therapy to reduce pain, increase exercise capacity, increase skin surface oxygen pressure and improve ulcer healing. Sites for the study are being finalized.

• AMDL Inc., of Tustin, Calif., said it has closed a financing that generated gross proceeds of $1.8 million, exclusive of placement agent fees and expenses of $235,624. The offering consisted of the sale 5 million shares of common stock at $0.362 per share and three-year warrants to purchase an additional 5.5 million shares at $0.555 per share.

• AspenBio Pharma Inc., of Castle Rock, Colo., said it raised about $1.43 million in a private placement of unregistered securities. A total of 1.02 million shares were issued to accredited investors. The money will be used for working capital, new product development and general corporate purposes.

• Athenagen Inc., of South San Francisco, said it has acquired the assets of Osprey Pharmaceutical Co., of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., which include a lead clinical compound targeting Alzheimer's disease, as well as a library of related analogues. The lead compound, GTS-21, is an orally active alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist that has demonstrated memory and cognition enhancement activity in Phase I studies. The acquisition also includes intellectual property, preclinical and clinical data, and an active U.S. IND for GTS-21. Athenagen plans to initiate Phase II studies in patients with Alzheimer's disease in early 2007. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said it plans to meet with FDA officials on how to remove the clinical hold placed on Ampakine CX717, now that it has received a letter from the agency outlining why the action was taken. Cortex said the hold is based on the FDA's concerns over its preclinical animal data.