• A unit of Akzo Nobel NV, of Arnhem, the Netherlands, Diosynth Biotechnology, was selected by NeoPharm Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill., to manufacture clinical quantities for a Phase III trial in malignant glioma. NeoPharm based its selection on the successful process development and early clinical manufacture of interleukin-13-PE38QQR, an experimental tumor-targeting cancer drug that is being investigated as a treatment for first recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme.

• Cobra Biomanufacturing plc, of Keele, UK, granted AstraZeneca plc, of London, a license to its DNA manufacturing technology for use in AstraZeneca's programs for the identification and evaluation of conventional drug targets.

• Curacyte AG, of Munich, Germany, reported positive results from a Phase IIc study of its lead compound, pyridoxalated hemoglobin polyoxyethylene (PHP), in patients with distributive shock. The data, presented at the 24th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine in Brussels, Belgium, showed that administering PHP produced better outcomes than the current standard of care. PHP reduces patients' levels of nitric oxide. By scavenging nitric oxide, PHP can reverse vasodilation and resolve hypotension. Curacyte is currently seeking a partner for a Phase III trial.

• DeCode Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, is proposing an offer of up to $100 million in senior convertible notes due 2011. The notes will be convertible into DeCode common stock at a price to be determined. DeCode expects to grant the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to $25 million more in notes. It said it would use the proceeds to advance its drug and diagnostic development programs, as well as for general corporate purposes.

• General Electric Co., of Fairfield, Conn., completed its £5.7 billion acquisition of Amersham plc, the UK's largest life sciences company. Amersham will be merged with GE Medical, under the banner GE Healthcare. The division will be based in the UK and headed by William Castell, former Amersham CEO. The vision of the merged company is to create a $16 billion turnover business that will drive the development of personalized medicine, by marrying GE's X-ray, MRI and PET scanning machines with Amersham's imaging agents and radiopharmaceuticals. GE Healthcare will be based in Chalfont St. Giles, UK, with 42,500 staff worldwide.

• The German Resource Center for Genome Research GmbH (RZPD), of Berlin, reached an agreement with Protagen AG, of Dortmund, Germany, to use Protagen's technology to create gene libraries for the academic market. The RZPD also has licensed one of Protagen's libraries for protein expression. The two sides will create up to 12 additional libraries of human, rat and mouse tissue to support proteome research. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Henderson Morley plc of Birmingham, UK, a drug discovery company that is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, was granted a European patent on its Ionic Contra Viral Therapy (ICVT). The technology is in a Phase II study in adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis, being carried out by Henderson's licensee, Croma Pharma AG. A Phase II U.S. study also is ongoing in the treatment of sub-ungal warts. ICVT prevents viruses replicating by changing the electrical characteristics of the host cell.

• Ipsen SA, of Paris, and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Norristown, Pa., entered a license and distribution agreement for the marketing of Auxilium's product Testim 1 percent testosterone gel. Ipsen will hold marketing and distribution rights in all countries except the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan. Auxilium will receive milestone and royalty payments. Testim is a topical gel formulation that normalizes low levels of testosterone in men with hypogonadism. It was launched in the U.S. in early 2003.

• LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, renewed its license for SRS and SRS Objects. With the renewals, which were received by the company in the third quarter of fiscal year 2003/2004, GSK expanded its collaboration with LION and has the license to use the LION technology globally. Financial details were not disclosed. SRS is a scalable data-integration platform.

• MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, is preparing to begin a Phase II trial of Polyphenon E ointment to treat actinic keratosis. The trial is expected to start in the second quarter and will evaluate the product's efficacy and safety. The company recently announced positive Phase III data of the ointment to treat genital warts. Results from the new Phase II trial are expected in 2005. If marketed for both indications, the product has an annual market potential of $363 million, it said.

• Mologen AG, of Berlin, will receive support over the next two years from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the company's project called "DNAShield." The project is intended to produce two-component vaccines against aggressive infections. Each component would come from a Mologen technology. The company believes that the combination will lead to vaccines against newly emerging or mutating diseases, such as influenza or severe acute respiratory syndrome. The amount of support has not been decided, although the ministry's program agency characterized it as "substantial."

• Nycomed Danmark ApS, of Roskilde, Denmark, and Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., of San Diego, through its wholly owned subsidiary PFC Therapeutics LLC, entered a deal for Nycomed to develop and commercialize Oxygent in Europe. Oxygent (perflubron emulsion) is a patent-protected synthetic oxygen carrier that Alliance has evaluated in late-stage clinical studies for avoidance of red-blood-cell transfusions during surgery. Nycomed will be responsible for the remaining clinical and regulatory development and future marketing of Oxygent within a broad European territory. The agreement also includes an option for Nycomed to acquire Oxygent rights for China.

• Phytopharm plc, of Godmanchester, UK, announced the UK launch of its lead veterinary product, Phytopica, for the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis. Phytopharm said it is looking for marketing partners in other territories.

• ProQinase GmbH, of Freiburg, Germany, entered a distribution and co-marketing agreement with Cell Signaling Technology Inc., of Beverly, Mass. CST will distribute the full line of ProQinase purified enzymes on a scale for high-throughput screening and research, as well as in fully configured and validated kinase assays for the drug discovery market. The combined reagents should enable scientists to more rapidly discover and develop new kinase inhibitors leading to targeted treatments for a range of diseases.

• Sanofi-Synthelabo SA, of Paris, said the registration statement filed with the SEC for its proposed acquisition of Aventis SA, of Strasbourg, France, was declared effective, allowing the U.S. offer to commence on Monday. The offer is open to holders of Aventis ordinary shares who are located in the U.S. and to all holders of Aventis American depository shares wherever located. The French offer, the U.S. offer and the German offer are being made on the same terms. Completion is subject to the same conditions, and all three offers will expire at the same time. Aventis is the subject of a $60 billion takeover bid by Sanofi.

• Y's Therapeutics, of Tokyo, and Lonza Group Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, reported an agreement in which Lonza Biologics will collaborate with Y's on cell line construction and production of a humanized monoclonal antibody for YSCMA program, one of Y's Therapeutics' projects in the area of cancer and immune diseases. Financial terms were not disclosed.