• Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., introduced the whole-genome microarray for mouse. The microarray is designed to benefit scientists conducting genome-wide gene-expression profiling research in oncology, cardiovascular biology, immunology and toxicology/toxicogenomics. The whole-mouse genome microarray represents all known mouse genes and related transcripts, the company said.

• Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said enrollment began in a study of a coronary stent that uses its paclitaxel coating. Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, Mass., began the ATLAS trial to test its new Liberte coronary stent as a platform for its paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system. The Taxus Liberte will be the next generation to its current paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system, the Taxus Express(2).

• Aphton Corp., of Miami, submitted regulatory documentation to Health Canada for the registration of Insegia as monotherapy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer in patients for whom chemotherapy is not indicated. Insegia targets the hormone gastrin 17 to treat gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic, gastric, esophageal and colorectal cancer. Aphton's anti-gastrin targeted immunotherapy induces patients to produce antibodies that bind and neutralize those gastrin hormones involved in tumor progression in gastrointestinal cancers, Aphton said.

• Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, and Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a cooperation agreement in mouse genetics. Artemis will apply its ArteMice technology platforms to generate a genetically engineered mouse model system for Acceleron. ArteMice Conditional gene targeting and Arte Mice Speed technologies are designed to allow the generation of genetically modified mouse lines.

• ChondroGene Ltd., of Toronto, raised $5 million through a brokered private placement in the U.S. Rodman & Renshaw LLC placed about 5.3 million shares at 95 cents per share. Rodman was paid a fee of 6 percent, or $300,000, on the proceeds raised, plus a broker warrant entitling Rodman to purchase common shares equal to 6 percent of the number of shares placed for a period of 24 months at a price of 95 cents per share. ChondroGene applies functional genomics diagnosis and therapies.

• Generex Biotechnology Corp., of Toronto, expanded its relationship with PharmaBrand SA, of Quito, Ecuador, to include an affiliate of the latter. The companies have a joint venture agreement focused on the manufacture, marketing, distribution and sale of Oralin, Generex's oral insulin formulation, in Central and Latin America. Farmacid SA, an Ecuadorian pharmaceutical manufacturer, will serve as a filling operation for Oralin. In the process, Generex gained a 25 percent equity interest in the manufacturing facility.

• Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., and Odyssey Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pliva d.d., of Zagreb, Croatia, said clinical findings reported at the International Continence Society meeting in Paris showed that Sanctura (trospium chloride) reduced micturitions (toilet voids) and urge urinary incontinence episodes. The study also demonstrated an onset of action within one week of therapy. Data from a second trial showed that Sanctura was safe and well tolerated when administered to hepatically impaired patients. Additional findings demonstrated that patients with overactive bladder who were treated with the drug did not experience daytime sleepiness.

• Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, completed a first round of financing of $3 million. The financing was managed by Joseph Stevens & Co. Intercept has used a portion of the proceeds to complete acquisition of its lead compound, the FXR nuclear receptor agonist INT-747, and associated intellectual property covering a portfolio of FXR compounds invented by Intercept's scientific co-founder, Roberto Pellicciari. Intercept also is using proceeds to complete preclinical studies of INT-747, with the goal of clinical trials early in 2005.

• Jerini AG, of Berlin, reported that its Phase II proof-of-concept study in hereditary angioedema study results support the clinical efficacy of Icatibant for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks. In 20 attacks, Icatibant was tested in the intravenous as well as the subcutaneous formulation. No difference in efficacy was reported between the treatment forms.

• Kos Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Miami, said results from a Phase IIa trial showed that its inhaled insulin therapy for Type II diabetic patients is comparable to Lantus (insulin glargine, from Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc.), the market-leading injectable insulin in controlling blood glucose levels. Kos said its product also reduced blood lipids such as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. The safety profiles of the treatments were comparable, with four mild to moderate hypoglycemic episodes occurring in both groups. In separate news, Kos said it is planning to file a new drug application in 2006 for its KS 01-019 product, a combination of Niaspan and simvastatin, a widely prescribed statin for dyslipidemia.

• Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., received undisclosed funding from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to develop a class of molecular imaging pharmaceuticals to detect and non-invasively monitor the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in patients with congestive heart failure. The research will be conducted jointly by the company and the Nuclear Medicine Division of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The grant is based on the company's proprietary single-amino-acid chelate platform technology that incorporates understanding of ACE inhibitor drug design to build and screen peptide-based libraries.

• NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a research and discovery collaboration with Achaogen, of South San Francisco. NeoGenesis will use its drug discovery technologies, including its ALIS (Automated Ligand Identification System) platform, NeoMorph compound libraries and lead optimization technologies, to discover drug candidates against selected targets. Further details were not disclosed.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, and Pfizer Inc., of New York, signed a research, option, development and licensing agreement related to selected NicOx nitric oxide-donating compounds. NicOx grants Pfizer an option to acquire an exclusive worldwide license covering early stage nitric oxide-donating compounds in an undisclosed field. NicOx will receive a €1 million up-front payment and a €1 million payment after six months, with an additional €35 million in milestone payments if the collaboration results in commercialization of a product. NicOx also is entitled to royalties. Pfizer and NicOx will be jointly responsible for research programs under the supervision of a joint steering committee. NicOx will synthesize nitric oxide-donating compounds to be evaluated in a series of preclinical screening and characterization tests. After the first phase of the collaboration, Pfizer will be responsible for funding the further development and future global commercialization of selected lead compounds.

• Northfield Laboratories Inc., of Evanston, Ill., said it will receive $1.4 million in designated funding for the continued development of PolyHeme, its human hemoglobin-based blood substitute, as part of the Fiscal 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill recently signed by President Bush. PolyHeme is a solution of chemically modified human hemoglobin that requires no cross-matching and is compatible with all blood types.

• OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Melville, N.Y., said partner F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, submitted a marketing authorization application to the European health authorities for Tarceva (erlotinib HCl) as a monotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer for whom chemotherapy has failed. Tarceva is being developed by OSI, South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. and Roche. The drug was filed with the FDA for approval early this month. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 3, 2004.)

• Samaritan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Las Vegas, said its application to list and trade its common stock on the American Stock Exchange has been approved. Samaritan began trading Thursday under the symbol "LIV." Samaritan focuses on advancing drugs for AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease.

• Semafore Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Indianapolis, said data reported at the International Congress on Targeted Therapies in Cancer in Washington demonstrated how PI3 kinase (PI3K) and PTEN inhibitors can be employed to modulate key processes involved in the growth and spread of cancer. In vivo data showing the antitumor and anti-angiogenic efficacy of the company's PI3K inhibitor, SF1126, in a mouse model of glioma, as well as biochemical evidence from an analysis of downstream markers, demonstrated that SF1126 is acting on the PI3K receptor. Other data demonstrated the drug-like activity of Semafore's PTEN inhibitor, SF1720.

• Theratechnologies Inc., of Montreal, said Phase II results to be detailed at next week's International Congress of Endocrinology in Lisbon, Portugal, would describe the use of ThGRF in patients with HIV-related lipodystrophy. The affliction is characterized by body composition changes and metabolic abnormalities. The company said the data confirm that the product, a growth hormone-releasing factor analogue, could represent a new treatment for the condition.