• Callisto Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, said a team of scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston authored an article on Atiprimod, Callisto's drug candidate for multiple myeloma, which presented the first demonstration of Atiprimod's ability to inhibit growth of the disease in an animal model, and also demonstrated in vivo antitumor activity against human multiple myeloma tumor growth in severe combined immunodeficient mice. Those results were published in the June 2005 issue of the American Society of Hematology's journal Blood.

• Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., said two-year data presented at the European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting in Vienna, Austria, show that Remicade (infliximab) provided sustained improvement in the signs and symptoms of arthritis, psoriasis, dactylitis and enthesopathy in patients with active psoriatic arthritis. Data also showed improvements in physical and mental quality-of-life measurements in patients treated with Remicade, a TNF-alpha blocker.

• Cephalon Inc., of Frazer, Pa., commenced a tender offer for all of its outstanding 2.5 percent convertible subordinated notes due December 2006. The tender offer will expire at 5 p.m. New York City time on July 11, unless extended. The tender offer is not subject to the receipt of any minimum amount of tenders. Cephalon said it is purchasing the notes to reduce outstanding debt and interest expense.

• ChondroGene Ltd., of Toronto, entered clinical collaborations with Lam Wah EE Hospital and Island Hospital, two hospitals in Penang, Malaysia. The hospitals will begin collecting blood samples from consenting patients in disease areas that coincide with ChondroGene's primary areas of interest: cancer, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders and arthritis.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said study results demonstrated that a fully human monoclonal antibody, derived from patients who survived West Nile infection, effectively neutralized the virus in cell culture and fully protected mice from the lethal infection. The discovery complements Crucell's West Nile virus vaccine development program that is due to enter the clinic at the end of the year.

• CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, received notification from the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission that the company has been released from a preliminary conflict of interest inquiry without any finding of wrongdoing. CytRx learned in February about the preliminary inquiry into whether its previous retention of a consultant who introduced the company to the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) constituted a conflict of interest. In April 2003, CytRx entered exclusive license agreements with UMMS covering potential applications for RNAi technology to treat diseases such as obesity, Type II diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and human cytomegalovirus.

• Entelos Inc., of Foster City, Calif., and the American Diabetes Association in Alexandria, Va., completed an in silico model of the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, the primary animal model used to study Type I diabetes. That marks the end of the first year in a two-year collaboration. During the second year, the Entelos research team is expected to conduct in silico research using the mouse platform, as well as add biological detail and create a population of virtual NOD mice.

• Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, appointed Henry Simon nonexecutive chairman. Simon has served as a director of Eyetech since July 2001. He replaces John McLaughlin, who resigned after serving as nonexecutive chairman since February 2000.

• Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said that objective responses of up to 63 percent, according to Cheson criteria, were achieved at all dose levels with HuMax-CD20 in a Phase I/II study to treat patients with relapsed or refractory follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Patients were given four weekly infusions of HuMax-CD20 at doses of 300 mg, 500 mg, 700 mg and 1,000 mg, and tumor responses were recorded at 63 percent, 33 percent, 20 percent and 56 percent, respectively.

• GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said preclinical data on its cancer product 1D09C3 demonstrated that the compound appears to show improved efficacy if treatment intervals are increased up to seven days. That indicates that the antibody might not need to be continuously present in the bloodstream to achieve a cell-killing effect. The company said preclinical data also showed that frequent repeat treatments were not more potent than a single treatment. 1D09C3, an anti-MHC (major histocompatibility complex) Class II monoclonal antibody, is in a Phase I study in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphomas who have failed prior standard therapy.

• GW Pharmaceuticals plc, of Salisbury, UK, was informed that the UK's regulatory authority declined the company's appeal of the authority's request for a further clinical study in multiple sclerosis spasticity prior to the granting of a product license for Sativex. The regulatory agency has determined that the evidence of efficacy of Sativex in MS spasticity is not sufficiently compelling. Sativex has received approval in Canada for the treatment of neuropathic pain in MS.

• Iken Tissue Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, named Thomas Schreck CEO. Schreck most recently served as chief financial officer and director of Durect Corp., of Cupertino, Calif. Iken recently filed an investigational new drug application for Anginera, a site-directed, local cell-based therapy designed to treat patients suffering from chronic cardiovascular disease.

• Immunomedics Inc., of Morris Plains, N.J., reported encouraging results from a Phase I/II trial of epratuzumab to treat Sjogren's syndrome at the 2005 annual european Congress of Rheumatology in Vienna, Austria. The data demonstrated clinical improvement in patients with the disease.

• Insmed Inc., of Richmond, Va., received notification from the FDA that the agency expects to complete the priority review of SomatoKine on or before Oct. 3 marking a three-month extension from the original PDUFA date. Insmed said the extension is a result of the agency classifying responses to questions about the new drug application as an amendment to the DNA. The company is seeking marketing approval for SomatoKine to treat growth hormone insensitivity syndrome. Shares of Insmed (NASDAQ:INSM) dropped 25 cents Friday, or 20.5 percent, to close at 97 cents.

• IntegraGen SA, of Paris, formed a partnership with the French-based Fondation Austisme and the research organization Cure Autism Now to create a databank of samples from French families with autism. The databank will be available to the scientific community for research into the genetic causes of autism.

• Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston said scientists investigating protein kinase C (PKC)-beta, a critical enzyme implicated in complications from Type I and Type II diabetes, have confirmed the link between hyperglycemia, overexpression of PKC-beta 2 and kidney disease. In the study, researchers used genetically engineered mice that expressed three times the normal amount of PKC-beta 2 in tiny blood vessels. Results were presented at the American Diabetes Association's 65th scientific session in San Diego.

• Metabolex Inc., of San Diego, said final results from its Phase II trial of metaglidasen, an oral insulin sensitizer, showed that the product significantly reduced hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the measure of patients' blood glucose controls in Type II diabetes. The company reported that the reduction was comparable to that of the marketed insulin sensitizers without the dose-limiting side effects of edema or weight gain. Metaglidasen also was found to improve other metabolic parameters, including lowering fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and uric acid, and inducing a significant dose-dependent increase in adiponectin levels.

• Orion Acquisition Corp. II, of San Francisco, and its wholly owned subsidiary Medivation Inc. said that its stockholders have approved all six proposals brought before them at the May 20 annual meeting, including the proposed name change to Medivation Inc. Medivation acquires and develops drugs and medical device products with a focus on early clinical development.

• Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., initiated its Tarvacin Phase I cancer therapy trial, which is open to patients with any advanced refractory solid tumor malignancy. The trial is designed to enroll up to 28 patients with advanced solid tumors who no longer respond to standard cancer treatments. The objectives are to determine the safety and tolerability of Tarvacin administered intravenously, to characterize the pharmacokinetic profile, and to define the dose-limiting toxicities, maximum tolerated dose and maximum effective dose.

• Quintiles Transnational Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., and pharmaceutical services group, Interpharma Asia Pacific, of Hong Kong, parent of drug distributor Zuellig Pharma; and Asia investment company Temasek Holdings Ltd. signed a letter of intent to enter a joint venture to commercialize pharmaceutical products in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said all four patients with CIAS1-associated periodic syndrome enrolled in a pilot study of the Interleukin-1 Trap experienced a positive response. The patients received a once-weekly subcutaneous loading dose regimen of the IL-1 Trap, which resulted in a sizable reduction in daily patient diary scores and acute phase reactant levels. The study was conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

• Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., presented data at the 9th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma held in Lugano, Switzerland, on SGN-35, its antibody-drug conjugate composed of an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody linked to an auristatin derivative. The company plans to start clinical trials in early 2006 to treat CD30-positive malignancies, including Hodgkin's disease. The compound demonstrated antitumor activity at well-tolerated doses in preclinical models.

• Serologicals Corp., of Atlanta, said its board authorized a program to repurchase up to 2 million shares of the company's common stock over the next three years. The program is intended to be implemented through purchases made from time to time in the open market or through private transactions. The company has about 35 million shares of common stock outstanding.

• Symbollon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Framingham, Mass., has named Paul Desjourdy CEO. Desjourdy, who joined the company in 1993, previously served as president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Symbollon, a specialty pharmaceutical company, is focused on developing and commercializing drugs based on its molecular iodine technology.

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., initiated dosing in a Phase II study in rheumatoid arthritis with VX-702, an investigational oral p38 MAP kinase inhibitor designed to inhibit cytokine production. The study is expected to help define the safety, tolerability and clinical activity of VX-702 in about 300 patients.