• Artus GmbH, of Hamburg, Germany, amended its agreement with Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., to expand Abbott's distribution rights for all of Artus' nucleic acid-based diagnostic tests for use in Foster City, Calif.-based Applied Biosystems Group's instruments. Abbott gained rights to tests for hepatitis B virus, Epstein-Barr virus, Varicella-Zoster virus, Parvo B19 virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus and enterovirus. The tests are based on real-time PCR technology. Financial details of the transaction were not released.

• Astex Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, received a second, undisclosed milestone payment from AstraZeneca plc, of London, in their $40 million collaboration in Alzheimer's disease. The milestone is related to the selection and further development of a lead series against a public domain target. Most of the $40 million value of the deal is further downstream but Astex's CEO Tim Haines said the two milestones received to date are "of reasonable size." Further development is in the hands of AstraZeneca.

• Australian Cancer Technology, of Perth, Australia, said it is about to begin Phase II testing of its Pentrix anti-idiotypic cancer vaccine following the arrival of the product from Prima Pharm Inc., of San Diego. The formulated Pentrix vaccine was delivered to the Melbourne-based trial centers from the U.S. manufacturer, allowing recruitment of 40 hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients to begin.

• Biotica Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, agreed to a two-year deal with Inpharmatica Ltd., of London, for ADME services. Biotica specializes in developing versions of existing polyketide drugs and agricultural chemicals by targeting alterations in their biosynthesis. The company is focused on bioengineered polyketides from actinomycte bacteria. Working with Inpharmatica, Biotica is aiming to develop analogues of the immunosuppressant rapamycin.

• Cobra Biomanufacturing, of Keele, UK, said it will manufacture Reolysin for Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta. The agreement includes GMP manufacture and supply for Phase I and Phase II trials. Reolysin is a formulation of the human reovirus. The product has completed two clinical trials in Canada in which it was injected directly into tumors. Oncolytics has approval for a Phase I systemic administration trial in the UK. The 40-patient trial will determine safety and observe tumor and immune responses.

• Codon AG, of Berlin, reported positive results from the animal models of its product, chondrosphere, to treat defects in joint cartilage. The study, undertaken in cooperation with the University of Muenster, evaluated Codon's method of transplanting material generated from the patient's own body compared with other tissue-engineering products. Testing will continue, with a study of the product's effectiveness in treating arthrosis to begin this year.

• DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, completed its offering of 3.5 percent senior convertible notes due 2011. In addition to the $125 million of notes offered, the company issued a further $25 million of notes pursuant to the exercise of an overallotment option by the notes' initial purchasers. The notes are convertible into shares of DeCode common stock, at the option of the holder, at a price of $14 a share, which is equivalent to an initial conversion rate of about 71.4 shares per $1,000 of the notes. DeCode, which may redeem the notes beginning April 20, 2009, said it expects to use the proceeds principally for advancing its drug development programs, as well as for general corporate purposes.

• Eurand International SpA, of Milan, Italy, signed a research agreement with the University of Urbino Biotechnology Center in Italy to evaluate a potential new cancer compound derived from indol-3-carbinol, a natural substance present in cruciferous vegetables. They will collaborate to develop and evaluate the efficacy of the orally administered compound in treating a range of cancers. The university, which discovered the compound, will be responsible for its synthesis and preclinical evaluation. Eurand will be responsible for the product's development and will use its solubility-enhancement technology, Biorise, to optimize the drug's absorption profile. Eurand has worldwide exclusive rights to the compound and would fund future development and commercialization upon exercise of its option. If exercised, Eurand would pay the university success-related milestones and royalties on any future sales.

• The European Union is seeking opinions on tissue-engineered products. Interested parties are invited to provide comments by the end of April on the outline for a uniform EU regulatory framework covering human tissue-engineered products. After the consultation closes, the EU will publish the comments received and report the results and how the responses have been taken into account.

• Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, entered an integrated virtual screening and medicinal chemistry collaboration with Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, to identify, synthesize and optimize compounds that show biological activity against an undisclosed Fujisawa drug target. Evotec's chemists will mine the company's chemical databases to identify compounds in which Fujisawa will conduct biological screening. Evotec will receive service fees and milestone payments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Exiqon A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and U.S. Genomics Inc., of Woburn, Mass., entered a worldwide license agreement. U.S. Genomics will incorporate Exiqon's Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) chemistries into reagent kits for the U.S. Genomics Trilogy platform. Introduced into the market in early March, the Trilogy platform is designed to directly detect and quantitate individual molecules of DNA, RNA and proteins without the need for amplification. U.S. Genomics plans to have the reagent kits that include LNA chemistries commercially available in the third quarter.

• The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee said approval was given for 13 gene therapy trials in the UK in 2003, up from seven in 2002. Of those, nine were in cancer, three in HIV infection and one in the treatment of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome. Since granting the first approval in January 1993, the committee has given the go ahead to 85 gene therapy trials. Through December, 711 patients were enrolled and there were 109 serious adverse events in 21 of the trials.

• Immuno-Designed Molecules SA, of Paris, completed the development of its first cGMP production facility in the U.S. in Irvine, Calif. The facility will produce IDM cell drugs for clinical trials in North America. Production has already started of the first cell drug for which IDM filed an investigational new drug application in late 2003. That product is Collidem, a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of colorectal cancer, which is to be tested in a Phase I/II trial.

• IT-Omics, of Lille, France, launched LS-Graph, a decision support computer tool for the drug discovery industry that is designed, among other things, to help biologists understand how genes insert themselves in the pathological and physiological pathway associated with a given disease or determine the mechanism of action of a drug candidate. It also can help researchers identify the key genes and proteins involved in a given biological context and chart the networks of functional relationships between those genes and proteins. IT-Omics is a subsidiary of the Lille-based biotechnology company Genfit.

• Jerini AG, of Berlin, reported positive results from a bioavailability study of its lead compound, Icatibant, to assess the subcutaneous formulation in comparison with intravenous infusion. The study demonstrated good bioavailability, rapid absorption and low variability, the company said. In the study of 24 healthy subjects, icantibant demonstrated bioavailability of about 90 percent combined with low variability, and the maximum concentration Cmas was reached after about 30 minutes.

• Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corp., of Zoucheng City, China, signed agreements to acquire a bio-fertilizer patent from the China Agricultural University, with which it also established a strategic alliance. The patent covers six different species of bacillus that have been tested as bio-fertilizers to enhance yield and plant health. At the same time, the parties will form Kiwa-CAU Bio-Tech Research and Development Center, which will eventually include several major agricultural research institutions and universities in the U.S. The university will provide research facility, staff, information and training to Kiwa.

• MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, achieved a fourth milestone in its deal with Centocor Inc., of Horsham, Pa., triggering a payment from Centocor. MorphoSys said it developed several optimized fully human IgG antibodies against a disease-associated target provided by Centocor. As part of the collaboration milestone, MorphoSys applied its HuCAL Gold antibody library to generate antibodies that passed predefined criteria. No further financial details were disclosed. Also, MorphoSys won extended patent protection from U.S. authorities for its human combinatorial antibody library. The patent (U.S. 6,706,484) covers the method for obtaining an antigen-specific antibody or an antibody fragment from the HuCAL library. The company's library uses bacteriophages that display antibody fragments on their surface, thus maintaining natural binding characteristics and structure, recognizing a corresponding antigen.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, said preclinical results showed that HCT 1026 significantly reduced beta-amyloid deposition in the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The treatment produced a significant decrease in beta-amyloid peptide42 deposition in the dorsal hippocampus, a cognitive function area that is affected by beta-amyloid deposits early in the disease process. The effects were significant for both diffuse and dense plaques. The beta-amyloid deposits were reduced in size and had fewer inflammatory markers surrounding them, an indicator of decreased toxicity of the amyloid deposits that were present. No signs of side effects were observed.

• Nuevolution A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said it generated what it believes to be the world's largest drug-like library comprising 100 million diverse compounds synthesized in a single test tube. The company also identified drug lead candidates that inhibit the cancer target, integrin avb3 directly from the library. Both library generation and lead candidate identification were performed using Nuevolution's Chemetics drug discovery technology.

• Orexo AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, named Zsolt Lavotha president and CEO. Lavotha has spent 30 years working in the international pharmaceutical industry, including stints with Pfizer Inc., of New York, and Wyeth, of Madison, N.J.

• Oxxon Therapeutics Ltd., of Oxford, UK, changed its name from Oxxon Pharmaccines and opened a new U.S. operation in Boston. The new facility places the company closer to medical and commercial opportunities, where a large biotech environment exists with specialized professionals. The Boston facility will initially staff four people and grow to 10 over the next three years. Laboratory-based research, early stage development and administration will continue to be run from the headquarters in Oxford.

• Peplin Biotech Ltd., of Brisbane, Australia, and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research said data in Cancer Research detail five years of research on Peplin's new cancer drug, PEP005. The data show three daily topical applications of the drug onto the skin above a tumor resulted in complete clearance in a panel of aggressive mouse and human tumors growing subcutaneously in mice. They include melanoma and squamous-cell carcinoma, as well as lung, cervical and prostate cancers. Data also demonstrated that PEP005 induces primary necrotic cell death rather than apoptotic cell death.

• Pharming NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, signed a letter of intent with Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve SA, of Barcelona, Spain, to partner its lead product, recombinant human C1 inhibitor, which is in development for treatment of hereditary angioedema. Upon completion of due diligence, the two firms have agreed to finalize an agreement by June 30, which will cover the development of the drug and sales and marketing in Spain, Portugal and Greece. Pharming would receive milestones, royalties and research and development funding.

• Prana Biotechnology Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said Phase II data of PBT-1 showed that the use of the drug for 18 months markedly slowed the decline in cognitive function associated with Alzheimer's disease. The treatment also was well tolerated. The data came out of an extension study in which nine of the original 18 patients participated. The company expects to move PTB-1, a metal protein-attenuating compound, into a larger trial.

• Provalis plc, of Flintshire, UK, said its pharmaceuticals business entered an agreement with Edmond Pharma SpA, of Milan, Italy, under which Provalis will distribute Erdotin in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The agreement is for a minimum of 10 years, with Provalis being the exclusive distributor for the first five years. It also includes an option for Provalis to purchase the product, under agreed terms, after the end of the third year. Provalis is to pay €200,000 to Edmond Pharma as a contribution toward development and regulatory costs. Erdotin (erdosteine) is one of the latest generation of mucolytic agents.

• ReGen Therapeutics plc, of London, developed a new method for the extraction and purification of its lead compound, Colostrinin, from colostrum. The method, which is expected to reduce manufacturing costs of the Alzheimer's disease treatment, is now being scaled up by a U.S. colostrum processing company.

• Solvo Biotechnology Inc., of Hungary, and MDS Pharma Services, of Montreal, entered an agreement to provide in vitro multidrug resistance transporter assays for screening and lead optimization, as well as preclinical absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion studies. Solvo's ATP Binding Cassette transporter protein assays are relevant to almost all therapeutic areas, particularly cancer. Solvo is an early stage biopharmaceutical company active in the field of ABC transporters and drug resistance.

• Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland, expanded its use of Geospiza Finch Sequencing Center Enterprise Edition as the company enters its second year rolling out Geospiza systems on both sides of the Atlantic. The Geospiza system has provided Syngenta with a flexible means to track samples and archive data. It was first installed at Syngenta's Jealott's Hill International Research Centre in the UK to reduce turnaround times for investigative biotechnology.

• Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, reported Phase I/II data of Ad-IL2, an immunotherapy product, in 26 patients with melanoma and other solid tumors that encourage expansion of the trial. Analysis of 26 patients showed that treatment is well tolerated up to the highest dose level tested, with injection site reactions, fever, headache and transient lymphopenia as the main side effects.

• Ultrafine, of Manchester, UK, was acquired by Sigma-Aldrich Corp., of St. Louis, a transaction that Sigma-Aldrich said enhances its fine chemicals capabilities to serve pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers. Ultrafine supplies contract chemistry services for all phases of drug development, with capabilities ranging from fundamental research to GMP manufacturing, including the ability to supply active ingredients for clinical trials.