• Acrongenomics Inc., of Athens, Greece, is exploring future nanotechnology prospects by evaluating the technology behind existing implementations of PCR, ELISA and Real Time PCR, as part of its Nano-JETA platform. The company said its market research has shown existing limitations, such as problems with efficiency and cost, and hopes to overcome those limitations by introducing nanotechnology into molecular biology. The Nano-JETA platform is used to detect markers and viral targets, such as Neo-EpCAM, HER1, HER2, HER3 and HER4. The company said it will be conducting clinical validation trials in 400 breast, colon, lung and ovarian cancer samples by the end of March.

• Adherex Technologies Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said the Drug Development Group of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis has approved a Level III collaboration for the clinical development of the company's lead compound, ADH-1 (Exherin), provided additional preclinical studies are conducted. As part of the collaboration, the NCI's Developmental Therapeutics Program and Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program will negotiate a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Adherex to sponsor clinical and preclinical studies to further evaluate the compound's anticancer and vascular targeting effects, both as a single agent and in combination with other agents in patients with advanced resistant cancers that express the molecular target N-cadherin.

• Alfacell Corp., of Bloomfield, N.J., reported an extension in the expected time frame for completing patient accrual in its Phase IIIb trial of Onconase in malignant mesothelioma, due to regulatory changes in several European Union countries. The company said completion of the trial should run parallel with the completion of all required sections for a new drug application.

• Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Houston, priced $115 million principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2012, which will bear interest at a rate of 2.5 percent per annum and be convertible into Encysive common stock at an initial conversion rate of 71.7 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount, equivalent to a conversion price of about $13.95 per share. The company may redeem the notes on or after March 20, 2010, if Encysive's common stock trades above 140 percent of the conversion price for a specified period. The offering is expected to close March 16, though the company granted initial purchasers a 30-day option to buy up an additional $15 million principal amount of the notes.

• F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, launched its bowel cancer drug, Avastin (bevacizumab), in the UK. The product has been licensed from Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, for use in combination with chemotherapy, and Roche said studies showed that adding Avastin to bowel cancer treatment increased survival by an average of five months over the 15 months with chemotherapy alone. Avastin is designed to stop the growth of new blood vessels to a tumor by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor.

• Nabi Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., restated its financial statements for prior years to reflect a change in how it amortized a manufacturing intangible asset related to the company's rights to manufacture StaphVAX (Staphylococcus aureus Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine) at Dow Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing. Nabi terminated the agreement with Dow in 2003. The company said this restatement had no impact on its cash position, its financial results for fiscal year 2004 or its 2005 guidance.

• NeoPharm Inc., announced that Gregory Young, its president and CEO, as well as board member, resigned from the company March 8 to pursue other opportunities. The board elected member Ronald Eidell as interim CEO.

• Schiffrin & Barroway LLP, of Radnor, Pa., said its firm filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of all who purchased securities from Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics Inc. between June 7, 2004, and March 5, 2005. The complaint alleges that the company failed to disclose adverse facts regarding Xyotax, its non-small-cell lung cancer product. The drug missed the primary endpoint in its Stellar 3 pivotal trial, causing its stock to drop 47.5 percent, or $4.75, to close at $5.25 the day the news was made public. (See BioWorld Today, March 8, 2005.)

• The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) was to receive the National Medal of Technology today from President Bush. WARF, to be represented by its managing director, Carl Gulbrandsen, received the honor for its contribution to technology transfer. In particular, the organization played a role in the 1980 passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, which gave U.S. universities and small businesses the right to own their federally funded inventions and license them to companies for commercial development. Income from WARF's transfer of technology and investment management has generated more than $750 million dollars to fund research, programs and initiatives to the University of Wisconsin at Madison.