• A.C.T. Holdings Inc., of Worcester, Mass., along with its wholly owned subsidiary Advanced Cell Technology Inc., has entered two agreements to expand its portfolio of intellectual property relating to somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and cellular reprogramming. In the first agreement, ACT acquired an option to exclusively license cloning patents from TranXenoGen Inc., of Shrewbury, Mass., that are associated with SCNT and the use of oocytes and oocyte extracts to reprogram somatic cells. The second agreement calls for ACT to acquire the patents to a second-generation cloning technology called "cell fusion" and additional patents related to gene trap technology.

• Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, appointed Frank Verwiel as president and CEO, effective July 11. Verwiel, who most recently served as vice president with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc.'s Hypertension, Worldwide Human Marketing area, also will become a member of Axcan's board. Leon Gosselin, founder of Axcan and outgoing president and CEO, will continue to serve on the company's board.

• BioCurex Inc., of Richmond, British Columbia, initiated a long-term collaboration with the Center for Cancer Care in Goshen, Ind., for developing and evaluating its Recaf technology. The collaboration will consist of three phases: the first will continue and expand the applications of BioCurex's serum and biopsy tests using Recaf, the second will focus on imaging applications using Recaf to detect tumors and the third phase includes clinical trials evaluating Recaf as a way to deliver therapeutic agents that destroy cancer cells while causing minimal damage to normal tissues. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Biopure Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., said its directors have authorized a 1-for-6 reverse stock split of outstanding Class A common stock, to take effect May 27. The company had 146 million shares outstanding as of the closing of the market May 19. After the split, that number should be reduced to 24.4 million shares.

• Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, England, said an appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal in London the week beginning Oct. 24 regarding its collaboration with Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., on Humira, an anti-TNF antibody to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Abbott appealed a judge's decision stating that CAT is entitled to a larger share of the revenue (from 2 percent to 5 percent) from Abbott on Humira sales. After the judge ruled in January, Abbott paid CAT nearly $24 million in royalty arrears, CAT said, though CAT will not recognize this payment as company revenue until the appeal by Abbott is resolved.

• CEL-SCI Corp., of Vienna, Va., said Phase II trial results of its immunotherapy drug Multikine, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, demonstrated antitumor immune response following local administration of the drug for three weeks. Multikine's mechanism of action is described as a combination of different cytokines that cause the induction, recruitment into the tumor bed and proliferation of antitumor T cells and other inflammatory cells.

• EpiCept Corp., of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., withdrew its plans for an initial public offering, originally filed in January. The company had priced shares between $6 and $7 and had estimated raising about $44 million. EpiCept is focused on topically delivered therapeutics for pain management.

• Genitope Corp., of Redwood City, Calif., will be added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, effective at market opening May 23.

• Hybridon Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., entered an agreement with investors for a private financing of $5 million principal amount of 4 percent convertible subordinated notes due 2008. The notes will be convertible into shares of Hybridon common stock at an initial conversion rate of 89 cents per share, representing a premium of 50 percent over the volume-weighted average price of the company's stock over the preceding 10-day period. Hybridon said it expects to use proceeds to fund its Toll-like receptor 9 drug development activities, including its ongoing Phase II trial of IMOxine in renal-cell carcinoma and a Phase I/II trial of IMOxine in combination with chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer.

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it will restate its consolidated financial statements for the years ended Dec. 31, 2002, and 2003, and for all four quarters of 2003 and the first three quarters of 2004. The company also announced the completion of an audit, in which reviewers found no evidence of improper or fraudulent actions.

• Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, completed its research agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, with the licensing of certain compounds discovered by Morphochem for further development at Novartis. Morphochem has applied the MOREsystem, its design, synthesis and screening technology, to identify small molecules against three undisclosed targets provided by Novartis. In exchange, Morphochem received research funding and is eligible for future milestone payments on the licensed compounds.

• Myogen Inc., of Denver, initiated a clinical trial to evaluate ambrisentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who have previously discontinued bosentan or sitaxsentan therapy due to liver function test abnormalities. The primary objective of the 30-patient trial will be to determine the incidence of increased serum aminotransferase concentrations associated with ambrisentan therapy, along with safety, tolerability and efficacy in the PAH patient population. Ambrisentan is an ETA selective endothelin receptor antagonist.

• Neurobiological Technologies Inc., of Richmond, Calif., adopted a stockholders' rights plan to help protect the long-term interest of company shareholders. NTI said the plan, designed to guard shareholders against coercive takeover tactics, is similar to plans adopted by other public companies and was not adopted in response to any current or anticipated attempt to acquire the company.

• Solexa Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said it was restructuring operations to reflect the company's transition from Hayward, Calif.-based Lynx Therapeutics Inc.'s MPSS technology to the development and near-term commercial launch of Solexa's next-generation SBS-Cluster genetic analysis instrument system. The company is cutting its work force by 17 percent, leaving about 116 employees. Solexa's Sequencing-by-Synthesis and Cluster molecular array technology continues on track for commercial introduction late this year.

• Valentis Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., gained rights to the Del-1 antibody and associated intellectual property as part of a 1998 license agreement in which Valentis initially gained rights to the Del-1 protein and gene. Financial terms were not disclosed. Valentis, which focuses on the development of cardiovascular therapeutics, said it intends to partner the Del-1 product, an angiogenic compound with potential applications in oncology.

• VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., completed construction of its 40,000-square-foot pilot production facility in Jiashan, China, which is designed to provide the capacity to scale-up chiral building blocks and catalysts production to meet customer demand. VioQuest operates a chiral chemistry business through its subsidiary, Chiral Quest Inc.

• YM BioSciences Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, said data from a Phase I/II trial in high-grade malignant glioma tumors in adults using h-R3 (nimotuzumab), an EGF receptor humanized monoclonal antibody as a combination therapy, demonstrate an overall response rate of 35.3 percent observed in a monotherapy trial. Based on these results, the company said its partner, Wedel, Germany-based Oncoscience AG, has filed an application to initiate a Phase III pivotal trial in Europe. Data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla.