• Antisense Pharma GmbH, of Regensburg, Germany, completed patient recruitment for the Phase IIb trial of its TGF-beta2 antisense inhibitor, AP 12009, in high-grade glioma. More than 140 patients with anaplastic astrocytoma or glioblastoma have been included in the study. AP 12009 is being given after recurrence, and the treatment is compared to standard-of-care chemotherapy with either temozolomide or PCV. The drug also is in trials for the systemic treatment of patients with pancreatic carcinoma and malignant melanoma.

• Applied Biosystems Group, of Foster City, Calif., expanded a multinational genotyping project at the Developing Cooperative Databases for Pacific Salmon SNP Workshop in Anchorage, Ala. The company said it will use its TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays for the conservation and management of wild salmon populations in the Pacific Ocean.

• Ciphergen Biosystems Inc., of Fremont, Calif., said its Ciphergen Diagnostics division executed a material transfer agreement to allow the National Cancer Institute's Proteomics Reference Laboratory to evaluate the ProteinChip System, Series 4000 and ProteinChip arrays and associated bioinformatics suites. Ciphergen will provide instrumentation, biochip arrays and software that the reference laboratory will use to study biomarker patterns indicative of ovarian cancer.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, reported results from its Ebola vaccine studies conducted with the Vaccine Research Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army Institute of Infectious Diseases. Data confirmed previously published studies showing that a dose of the vaccine protected monkeys against Ebola. The new results used vectors developed with Crucell's adenoviral vector and PER.C6 cell line technology.

• DOV Pharmaceutical Inc., of Hackensack, N.J., filed a registration statement to cover the resale of $80 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.5 percent convertible subordinated debentures due 2025, and the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the debentures. The debentures were issued in a private placement Dec. 22 and Jan. 6 to institutional buyers. DOV focuses on developing drugs for central nervous system disorders and disorders that involve alterations in neuronal processing.

• Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, halted its trial of Xigris (drotrecogin alfa [activated]) in pediatric patients with severe sepsis, after the study's independent data monitoring committee reported that Xigris was unlikely to show an improvement over placebo in the primary endpoint of composite time to complete organ failure resolution over 14 days. The committee also noted an increase in the rate of central nervous system bleeding in the treatment group over the placebo group. Lilly sent a notice to medical professionals April 21, and said it plans to present additional data from the study later this year. Xigris is approved for the treatment of severe sepsis in adults.

• Kinovate Life Sciences Inc., of Oceanside, Calif., said it plans to launch its NittoPhase solid support for oligonucleotide synthesis at the TIDES meeting, which began in Boston May 1. The joint development of the solid phase support product was announced in November by Kinovate's sole shareholder, Nitto Denko Corp., of Osaka, Japan, and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif.

• La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, received a notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that the company is not in compliance with the minimum bid price rule. For the last 30 consecutive days, the company's common stock has closed below the minimum $1 per share. La Jolla will be provided 180 days to regain compliance or face delisting from the Nasdaq stock market. The company develops products for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases and inflammation, such as Riquent, a product designed to treat lupus kidney disease.

• Large Scale Biology Corp., of Vacaville, Calif., and Bayer CropScience, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., a subsidiary of Bayer AG, said they have entered a collaborative research and development agreement to investigate the plant-based expression of lysosomal acid lipase, a LSBC product for orphan and other diseases. The agreement centers on the use of LSBC's gene-expression and biomanufacturing resources, as well as its preclinical results with lysosomal acid lipase, in combination with Bayer's plant science and product development experience, with the goal of creating and commercializing a therapeutic product. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• NitroMed Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said the FDA's Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee plans to review the company's new drug application for BiDil, a product candidate to treat heart failure in African-Americans. The committee meeting is set for June 16.

• Ortho Biotech, of Bridgewater, N.J., a unit of Johnson & Johnson, announced that the European Commission approved an expanded use of Velcade (bortezomib) for injection as a second-line treatment in patients with multiple myeloma. The second-line approval is based on the results of an international Phase III study showing a significant survival advantage for patients receiving Velcade vs. high-dose standard therapy. Velcade, which also is indicated as a monotherapy for patients who have received at least one prior therapy and who have undergone or are unsuitable for bone marrow transplantation, received FDA approval in March for second-line use in multiple myeloma. The product is being co-developed by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.

• Pain Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said its board adopted a stockholder rights plan designed to guard against partial tender offers and other coercive tactics to gain control of the company. Pain Therapeutics will issue a dividend of one right for each share of its common stock held by stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 12. The company develops drugs to target severe chronic pain.

• Senesco Technologies Inc., of New Brunswick, N.J., reported that mice treated with its Factor 5A inhibition technology showed a survival benefit in a sepsis study conducted at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The study was designed to test the technology's ability to protect septic mice from death using different dosing schedules.

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, announced two study results showing that the pharmacokinetics of the HIV protease inhibitor Lexiva (fosamprenavir calcium) dosed in combination with either 100 mg or 200 mg of the PI ritonavir was not affected when Lexiva was co-administered once daily with the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor Viread (tenofovir disoproxil, Gilead Sciences Inc.). Data were presented at the 6th International Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology of HIV Therapy. GSK also presented pharmacokinetic data on taking Lexiva tablets with the proton pump inhibitor Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium, AstraZeneca plc) that demonstrated no effect on amprenavir steady-state plasma levels when co-administered.

• Xceleron Ltd., of Heslington, UK, closed a £2 million (US$3.8 million) funding round. Close Venture Management led the round with £1.5 million, with an additional £500,000 from Foursome Investments Ltd. The funding will be used to provide working capital and to finance a growth phase in Xceleron's development. The company is a spinout from the University of York and uses the nanotechnology of accelerator mass spectrometry in drug development.