• 4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, said it successfully concluded Phase I studies of SC12267, its small-molecule candidate for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The trials determined a safe and well-tolerated dose, and there were no relevant side effects after 14 days of once-daily dosing. The company also noted that SC12267 demonstrated a positive pharmacokinetic profile suitable for a once-daily schedule.

• Alchemia Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, said it will advance its lead cancer compound, ACL16907, to clinical trials following an assessment of the candidate's suitability in preclinical studies. The company plans to undertake the formal preclinical toxicology and safety studies required for an investigational new drug application. The product could be in the clinic in the first half of 2006.

• Alltracel Pharmaceuticals plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said it completed a 15-month program of animal trials and other preclinical research on the cholesterol reduction efficacy of its microdispersed oxidized cellulose (m-doc) technology platform. Data showed that m-doc might decrease the chance of atherosclerosis by preventing buildup of the artery-clogging plaque, and m-doc demonstrated a lipid-dependent and nonsystemic mode of action indicating likely additive cholesterol profile benefits, specifically in combination with certain statins and sterols.

• Aphton Corp., of Philadelphia, completed its acquisition of Igeneon AG, of Vienna, Austria. Pursuant to the agreement, Igeneon equity holders will receive 21.5 million shares of Aphton common stock in exchange for 100 percent of the equity of Igeneon. Aphton announced late last year it was acquiring Igeneon for more than $81 million in equity to boost its clinical pipeline of oncology products. With the acquisition, Aphton will gain two immunotherapy-based cancer drugs in clinical development. Igeneon will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Aphton.

• Benitec Ltd., of St. Lucia, Australia, granted a worldwide, nonexclusive commercial license to GenOway SA, of Lyon, France, to develop transgenic animals using DNA-directed RNA interference. That agreement grants GenOway the freedom to provide customers with in vivo RNAi technologies to facilitate the drug discovery process. Benitec will receive an up-front license fee and ongoing royalties. Specific financial details were not disclosed.

• Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, said Trabio failed to meet the primary endpoint in a second pivotal trial, and, as a result, the company is terminating its further development for improving the outcome of glaucoma surgery. Findings from the international Phase III study are consistent with results announced in November from an initial pivotal trial, a European Phase II/III study. The company added that it would minimize all future costs in connection with Trabio development.

• Cenix BioScience GmbH, of Dresden, Germany, announced the publication of its genome-wide RNAi screen for cell division genes in C. elegans as a full article in the March 24, 2005, issue of Nature. The study represents the culmination of a research effort, originally initiated as an academic pilot project in 1998 that focused on one of the six chromosomes of C. elegans, and became the founding project of Cenix when the company was founded in 2000.

• Cobra Biomanufacturing plc, of Keele, UK, said it has developed a new method of manufacturing oral bacterial vaccines, without the use of antibiotics or antibiotic-resistance genes, that are more stable and potent than vaccines manufactured using existing techniques. The company developed the ORT-VAC technique in a five-year collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defence's Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, and said it is applicable to cancer vaccines and other immunotherapeutics, as well as biodefense.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said its contract manufacturer, DSM Biologics, signed a PER.C6 research license agreement with Mitsubishi Pharma Corp., of Osaka, Japan. The agreement allows Mitsubishi to use the cell line for production of certain recombinant therapeutic proteins in exchange for an up-front payment and annual maintenance fees. Further financial details were not disclosed. Also, Crucell signed a commercial PER.C6 license agreement with Singapore-based SingVax Pte. Ltd. to develop and commercialize new vaccines against Japanese encephalitis. SingVax will focus on the development and commercialization of a vaccine, and Crucell will receive up-front, annual and milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales. Crucell will have a preferred position to negotiate marketing rights outside the Asia Pacific Region with respect to a travelers' vaccine that may be developed.

• Directif GmbH, of Erlangen, Germany, and Epidauros Biotechnologie AG, of Bernried, Germany, began a sales and marketing collaboration intended to strengthen both companies' ability to sell their chip arrays to pharmaceutical companies and other drug developers. The companies said that the cooperation would be open ended and did not disclose the financial details.

• Evolva Biotech SA, of Allschwil, Switzerland, raised CHF3 million (US$2.5 million) in a final closing of its Series A round. New investor APIDC-VC led the financing, which included participation from existing investors. In August, Evolva raised CHF18.5 million in the first closing of the round. In connection with the financing, Evolva has formed a subsidiary in Hyderabad, India, where it will build a molecular biology research operation.

• Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, and CSC Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vienna, Austria, signed an agreement granting CSC the exclusive license and distribution rights for Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) in Austria and other Central and Eastern European countries. Aloxi, a long-acting anti-emetic belonging to a second generation of serotonin (5:HT3) antagonists, is marketed in the U.S. The drug received approval in Europe in December for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting associated with emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• IP2IPO plc, of London, bought a 5 percent stake in Sigma Technology Group plc, of Edinburgh, UK, paying £360,935 (US$672,248), or 20 pence per share, and got an option to invest further. As part of the investment, the two agreed to a collaboration to support Sigma in developing intellectual property commercialization deals with universities in Scotland. Sigma manages venture funds worth £23 million and has investments in 10 Scottish companies.

• LION Bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, received a takeover offer from FM Fund Management Ltd., of the Cayman Islands, and Zapis Capital Group, of Westlake, Ohio, at LION's extraordinary shareholder meeting this week. The offer is non-binding, and the company did not specify what terms were offered.

• Microscience plc, of Wokingham, UK, was awarded a Wellcome Trust Strategic Translation Award (STA) of £1.95 million (US$3.7 million) to advance the clinical development of Microscience's drinkable typhoid vaccine program. It is the largest STA ever given by the Wellcome Trust.

• NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, gained a milestone payment of €10 million from partner GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, as its candidate drug for depression, NS2359 (GSK372475), entered a Phase II clinical trial. That follows an earlier payment of the same amount, triggered by the successful conclusion of a Phase I clinical trial.

• Peptech Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said Domantis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Tanox Inc., of Houston, signed a collaboration and license agreement for the use of domain antibodies in treating autoimmune disease. Peptech holds a 36.1 percent interest in Domantis, which will receive an undisclosed up-front fee, research funding, annual fees, and milestone and royalty payments as part of the deal with Tanox.

• Protherics plc, of Runcorn, UK, said it was granted a U.S. patent for its chemotherapeutic NQ02, and reported initial safety and dosing data from a Phase I study. NQ02, a nitroreductase enzyme that is overexpressed in certain solid tumors, normally is inactive, but is capable of activating an inert prodrug, tretazicar (formerly CB1954), into a chemotoxic in the presence of a co-substrate, caricotamide (formerly EP-0152R). The activated tretazicar has a very short half-life, restricting its effect to cells close to its site of activation. NQ02 is in an open-label UK Phase I study in patients who have failed other therapies, and initial results showed no safety concerns, and that tretazicar consistently was activated at the selected doses of caricotamide.

• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, Israel, and Active Biotech AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said the final report of the Phase II study of laquinimod, which was successfully concluded in September 2003, was published Tuesday in Neurology. The article addresses how treatment with the drug reduced development of active magnetic resonance imaging lesions in relapsing multiple sclerosis.

• UK medical and scientific groups launched a study into the use of non-human primates in research. The aim is to establish where alternatives such as genetically modified mice or computer modeling could be used and where there will be a need to continue using non-human primates. The study is supported by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the Academy of Medical Science and the Royal Society.

• A UK parliamentary committee investigating possible changes to UK law on human reproductive technology said the state no longer has a legitimate interest in policing this area of medical practice, and should withdraw from people's reproductive decision making. That would open the way to allow couples having in vitro fertilization treatment to select the sex of implanted embryos, to choose only to implant embryos that could provide tissue matches for sick siblings, and would mean that decisions on screening for inherited diseases before implantation would be between doctors and their patients and not dictated by regulators. The committee said also that the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority should be scrapped and replaced with a new regulatory agency for fertility and tissues, with more limited powers. However, five members of the committee disagreed with the report's conclusions. It was approved on the casting vote of the chairman.

• The University of Southampton in the UK said a team of its researchers published findings in the Journal of Experimental Medicine detailing their discovery that a therapy used to treat multiple sclerosis could be a potential new treatment to reduce asthma attacks caused by the common cold virus. They identified a deficiency in the production of interferon-b that triggers apoptosis in infected epithelial cells, a deliberate sacrifice that reduces viral replication and, thereby, reduces the spread of virus within the lungs. In conclusion, they said the results suggest that inhaled interferon-b could be used in the treatment or prevention of rhinovirus-induced asthma attacks.