• 454 Life Sciences, of Branford, Conn., a majority-owned subsidiary of CuraGen Corp, reported that scientists from the company presented a poster detailing a potential new application for the company's technology, i.e., ultra-deep sequencing of the HIV virus. The poster discusses the ability of 454's sequencing platform to rapidly, reproducibly and accurately detect minor HIV variants that contain drug-resistance mutations present in HIV-infected patients.

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it granted Ambion Inc., of Austin, Texas, a non-exclusive license to provide research products and services in RNA interference under the Kreutzer-Limmer patent family owned by Alnylam, covering short-interfering RNAs and their use to mediate RNAi in mammalian cells. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Amarin Corp. plc, of London, said it completed its U.S. investigators' meeting for its upcoming U.S. Phase II trial of Miraxion to treat the symptoms of Huntington's disease. The trial will enroll about 300 patients in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a six-month period, followed by an additional six months in which placebo-treated patients will be switched to active Miraxion. Amarin said the trial is expected to begin in July, and a second European Phase III study with 240 patients is set to begin during the third quarter.

• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, and Eli Lilly & Co., of Indianapolis, have launched Byetta (exenatide) injection in the U.S. for patients with Type II diabetes. Byetta, which received FDA approval earlier this year, has been found to help diabetics manage blood sugar while potentially losing weight. The drug is formulated for self-administration as a fixed-dose injection given before meals in the morning and evening, and is available in both a 5-microgram and a 10-microgram prefilled pen. (See BioWorld Today, May 2, 2005.)

• AVI BioPharma Inc., of Portland, Ore., said its president and chief operating officer, Alan Timmins, will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness. The hearing will examine the challenges of bringing forward new treatments to address bioterror and other public health threats.

• CardioVascular BioTherapeutics Inc., of Henderson, Nev., said that its preclinical study has shown positive results for its drug candidate Cardio Vascu-Grow in treating peripheral vascular disease.

• Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., said new Phase III data show that treatment with Remicade (infliximab) resulted in significantly greater inhibition of structural damage compared to placebo in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Radiographic analysis showed patients treated with Remicade had a mean change of -0.70 from baseline in damage, as measured using the van der Heijde-Sharp scoring method. Those 24-week data, presented at the European League Against Rheumatism meeting in Vienna, Austria, also showed that the drug significantly reduced signs and symptoms in the joints and skin of those patients. Centocor said it plans to submit a supplemental biologics license application for Remicade, which already is approved for active psoriatic arthritis.

• Chelsea Therapeutics Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., said it began dosing volunteers in its first Phase I trial of CH-1504, an orally available inert antifolate, which has demonstrated potential anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. The trial will be placebo-controlled and double-blinded.

• Correlogic Systems Inc., of Bethesda, Md., said it has received an equity investment from Quest Diagnostics Inc., of Teterboro, N.J., in exchange for an option to commercialize specified diagnostic tests that Correlogic is developing. Correlogic is a clinical proteomics company.

• Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., reported that its first-in-class antibiotic, Cubicin (daptomycin for injection), passed $100 million in cumulative net product revenues since its launch in November 2003. The company also reiterated its previously announced Cubicin revenue guidance for 2005 of $110 million to $120 million. Cubicin is a once-daily bactericidal antibiotic indicated for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive microorganisms.

• Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, said its board approved a rights agreement under which its stockholders will receive a dividend in the form of preferred stock purchase rights. The rights agreement is similar to plans adopted by many other public companies and was not adopted in response to any current attempt to acquire the company. The rights will be distributed at the rate of one right for each share of common stock owned by stockholders of record as of June 21.

• Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, and Basel, Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. said preliminary results from a 465-patient Phase IIb trial of Rituxan (Rituximab) in rheumatoid arthritis showed that the two treatment arms of patients treated with a single course of Rituxan, with a stable dose of methotrexate, achieved American College of Rheumatology response rates of 20 percent (54 percent in the first treatment arm, 55 percent in the second), 50 percent (33 percent and 34 percent) and 70 percent (13 percent and 20 percent) compared to placebo (28 percent, 13 percent and 5 percent, respectively.) The improvement in response rates was shown to be independent of corticosteroids. Results were presented at the European League Against Rheumatism meeting in Vienna, Austria.

• InSite Vision Inc., of Alameda, Calif., said an in vivo keratitis study in rabbits indicate that the company's AzaSite anti-infective (1 percent azithromycin) is effective in treating bacterial keratitis induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacterium. Upon application of an AzaSite eyedrop to the infected eyes, the bacterial count was reduced by over three orders of magnitude. The company also said a recently completed time-kill study suggests that the AzaSite formulation will sterilize the ocular surface to minimize the chance of bacterial contamination during ocular procedures.

• Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., said final data from a Phase I trial showed that ISIS 301012 produced rapid, dose-dependent and prolonged reductions of its target, ApoB-100, with concomitant reductions in low-density lipoprotein, very-low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels. The company said those reductions occurred after one month of dosing and lasted more than 100 days. No treatment-related serious adverse events were reported.

• Medac GmbH, of Hamburg, Germany, 25 percent-owned by Schering AG, of Berlin, has been sold by Schering to the stakeholders of Medac for a "two-digit euro figure," Schering said. At the same time, Schering has acquired from Medac the remaining 50 percent of the shares in Medac Schering Onkologie GmbH. The activities of that company are to be integrated into a new oncology business unit at Schering Deutschland GmbH, Schering's German subsidiary. The employees of Medac Schering Onkologie will be taken over by Schering Deutschland.

• Neurochem Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said further analyses of results of its Phase II/III study of Fibrillex to treat amyloid A amyloidosis suggest that treatment results in an early clinical effect, which is seen as early as the first post-baseline assessment at month four. Those data were presented at the European League Against Rheumatism meeting in Vienna, Austria. The company reported earlier this year that, despite demonstrating a positive trend in AA amyloidosis patients, the trial missed its primary endpoint, causing Neurochem's stock to drop by more than 28 percent. (See BioWorld Today, April 19, 2005.)

• Osel Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., was awarded a multiyear grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, both in Bethesda, Md., toward development of an encapsulated MucoCept Lactobacillus strain for therapeutic prevention of bacterial vaginosis and HIV infection under support of the Partnerships for Topical Microbicides.

• Saegis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Half Moon Bay, Calif., said a study of its lead product, SGS742, a GAMA-B antagonist, blocks transcription factors that interfere with memory formation, and might prove to be a useful therapeutic for reducing memory impairment caused by disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Researchers compared SGS742 with Aricept (donepezil, New York-based Pfizer Inc.) in animal studies and found that, while both drugs improved memory formation, a combination of the two enhanced memory performance to a larger degree than either drug alone. The study appears in the June 2005 issue of Neuropharmacology.

• StemCo Biomedical Inc., of Durham, N.C., signed a worldwide distribution agreement whereby StemCell Technologies, of Vancouver, British Columbia, will distribute StemCo's Aldefluor product. StemCell Technologies previously had distributed Aldefluor only in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific territory (excluding Japan).

• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, said results from an ongoing study demonstrate that Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) is associated with lower relapse rates than interferon therapies in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Compared to interferon beta 1b (Betaferon, Chiron Corp.) interferon beta 1a (Avonex, Biogen Idec) and 22 microgram interferon beta 1a (Rebif, Serono SA), Copaxone produced a statistically significant reduction in annual relapse rates at 24 months after initiation of treatment vs. pre-study rates.

• TransMolecular Inc., of Birmingham, Ala., has appointed E. Michael Egan CEO. Egan served most recently as senior vice president of commercial development for Gaithersburg, Md.-based GenVec Inc. Earlier this month, TransMolecular began a Phase II study of 131I-TM-601, a radiopharmaceutical, in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma.