• Altana AG, of Bad Homburg, Germany, said that the Australian Health Agency granted marketing approval for Alvesco, an inhaled corticosteroid for the treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older.

• Amarin Corp. plc, of London, completed the sale of its U.S.-based subsidiary, Amarin Pharmaceuticals Inc., and a majority of its U.S. products to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, of Costa Mesa, Calif. The terms of the transaction were substantially as reported on Feb. 12 as a deal worth up to $46 million. Amarin Pharmaceuticals will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Valeant. Amarin also reported it settled its financial obligations to Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, on Feb. 12, although specifics were not given.

• Antisense Therapeutics Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said preclinical results showed that ATL1103 exhibited positive effects in animal models of diseases associated with excessive growth hormone action, including acromegaly, an abnormal growth disorder of organs, face, hands and feet; diabetic retinopathy; and wet age-related macular degeneration. ATL1103 is an antisense inhibitor designed to block the growth hormone receptor gene.

• Arachnova Therapeutics Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, entered a licensing deal with Sosei Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, involving the therapeutic use of AA10020/SOU001 for stress urinary incontinence. In a Phase Ib mechanism trial, the compound demonstrated potential efficacy in increasing urethral pressure compared to placebo, without a significant increase in blood pressure. The compound previously was developed up to Phase II trials as an intravenous injection for a cardiovascular indication. Arachnova will receive an up-front license fee and developmental milestones together with royalties on sales, while Sosei has secured exclusive, worldwide development and marketing rights, and will share intellectual property with Arachnova. Sosei intends to continue development into Phase II efficacy trials and retains the right to sublicense the project at a later stage in development. More specific financial terms were not disclosed.

• Basilea Pharmaceutica AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said it successfully completed Phase I development of BAL8557, a water-soluble azole suitable for both oral and intravenous administration. Data demonstrated that the compound was rapidly converted to the active drug moiety following oral or intravenous administration. BAL8557 is active against a range of fungal pathogens, including strains resistant to current antifungal treatments. Basilea is preparing a Phase II development program.

• Biobase GmbH, of Wolfenbuttel, Germany, licensed its Transpath signal transduction database to GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany. The database is designed to be used as an encyclopedia for general or specific information about signal transduction, for analysis of biological networks and gene-expression data, as well as for searching for target molecules of new agents.

• BioMérieux, of Marcy l'Etoile, France, launched a high-density DNA chip for food and animal feed testing. Called FoodExpert-ID, it incorporates the GeneChip technology of Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif. It is the first molecular high-density, multi-detection test designed specifically for the food and feed industries. Using a combination of genetics, DNA technology, image analysis and bioinformatics, the test makes it possible to verify the animal composition and authenticity of raw or processed food and feed, BioMérieux said.

• Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, signed a letter of intent with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Parkville, Australia, to establish a drug discovery collaboration in ion channels. The parties plan to identify new lead molecules to treat central nervous system disorders, including epilepsy and anxiety. The collaboration would be focused on Bionomics' ion channel targets and animal models.

• Cellectis SA, of Paris, expanded its agreement with BASF Plant Science GmbH, of Ludwigshafen, Germany. The deal, which covers the evaluation and use of Cellectis' Meganuclease I-SceI for the deletion/excision of nucleotide sequences, such as marker genes in plants for agricultural and nutritional applications, was extended to further crops of interest to BASF. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Compugen Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, expanded its pipeline to include CGEN-40, a soluble splice variant of CD40, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family with potential applications in treating autoimmune diseases, cancer, organ transplantation and inflammation. The company disclosed its discovery at the R&D Leaders' Forum in Coral Gables, Fla., at which it described the use of its discovery process that combines predictive mathematical modeling with hypothesis-driven experimentation.

• Debiopharm SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Dyax Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., said preliminary Phase IIa results confirm the good tolerability of DX-890 and the expected pharmacological effect - inhibition of neutrophil elastase - in the sputum of pediatric cystic fibrosis patients when given as a nebulized formulation. A total of 34 children were recruited in the study conducted by Debiopharm, of which 27 completed the protocol and were assessable. Of those, 20 responded to treatment as demonstrated by decreases in human neutrophil elastase, an enzyme produced as part of the inflammatory response implicated in the loss of lung function in cystic fibrosis patients. There was a pronounced dose effect, and DX-890 (also called EPI-hNE4) was well tolerated. The partners are planning a larger Phase IIb study later this year to detect potential clinical benefit and to confirm tolerability of DX-890, a recombinant inhibitor of human neutrophil elastase discovered by Dyax.

• Diatos SA, of Paris, secured €7 million in a new financing round. The company plans to use proceeds to support the clinical development of its lead product, DTS-201, and to expand its operations in Europe and the U.S. Innoven Partenaires and Belgium-based Biotech Fund Flanders led the financing. Existing investors include Credit Lyonnais Private Equity and NIF Ventures, as well as others.

• Domantis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and its partner, Peptech Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said their lead anti-TNF alpha domain antibody (dAb) was significantly more potent than two other anti-TNF products already on the market in a preclinical model of rheumatoid arthritis. The research established also that the serum half-life of dAbs can be increased without affecting potency, and demonstrated the ability of dAbs to address more than one target in vivo. The anti-TNF alpha dAb will now enter preclinical trials.

• Evogene Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, completed a second closing of its initial private placement of $1.5 million, bringing the total for the first round to $3.5 million. The first closing took place in March. The second closing was restricted to the group of U.S., European and Israeli investors that participated in the first closing. Evogene is focused on integrating predictive computational biology and plant genomics with classical breeding to generate improved crops and new agricultural biotechnology products.

• German Cancer Research Center, of Heidelberg, licensed patents and other intellectual property related to signaling pathways involving Kremen and DKK, or Dickkopf, to ProSkelia SAS, of Romainville, France. The licenses cover use of the intellectual property in a range of bone diseases. ProSkelia will provide research funding and milestone payments, as well as royalties on future sales. Specific financial terms were not disclosed. The genes are related to bone formation, and Dickkopf is a focus of osteoporosis research, particularly in the search for ways to stimulate bone formation or inhibit bone loss.

• The German government over the next five years will invest about €100 million in small and medium-sized companies in the biotechnology sector. The German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has committed the funds as part of the BioChancePLUS program, an extension of the existing BioChance program. The first awards will be announced by the end of the month. Closing dates for applications will fall about every six months over the life of the program. "One important aspect of our support is that the project plans must also include investment from the private sector," said Burkard Neuss, of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, which administers the program. "The plan must show specific amounts calculated in advance for the particular project." Between 25 percent and 50 percent of the funds can be covered by the BMBF. The company also must show it can provide the rest of the funds needed - either from cash flow, committed venture funds, bank credits or other sources, he said. The BMBF seeks to support industrial research and development efforts that are part of the biotechnology sector. Companies must be located in Germany to be eligible. Academic research centers working together with a company also are eligible.

• Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, and Gruenenthal GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, collaborated to use Ingenium's Ingenotyping technology platform to develop animal models with defined gene alterations. The companies will focus on developing animal models for genes relating to therapeutic discoveries in pain. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Innogenetics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, reported a reduced net loss of €14 million for 2003, down from €16.3 million in 2002. Its specialty diagnostics division generated an operating profit of €7.1 million, up 11 percent from 2002. Total revenues increased by 16 percent to €72.5 million last year, consisting of €53 million in product sales, €7.9 million in license fees, €7.3 million in research and development income and €4.3 million in royalties.

• Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Beverly, Mass., set up a clinical operations center in Ra`anana, Israel, to manage and monitor Inotek clinical trials in Israel and around the world. It is a step toward realizing the vision of the Israeli Ministry of Health, which presented the nation as a center for clinical trials, inviting private industry to participate, especially from the U.S. and Western Europe, for over two decades with encouragement early on in harmonization from the U.S. FDA. Inotek Israel Pharmaceuticals' medical director and director of clinical operations, Chaim Brickman, said, "The Israeli center will supervise Inotek's worldwide clinical trial activities, and also local trials." A Phase II study of a drug to prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury is planned to start next month with participating hospitals in Israel, Hungary, Western Europe, the U.S. and possibly Australia.

• Irish BioVentures International Ltd., of Dublin, Ireland, also called IBV, entered a strategic alliance with London-based BTG plc, on whose behalf it will source and pre-screen new investment and IP development opportunities. IBV will work on a retainer basis and will gain a revenue share in whatever assets are developed via BTG. It also will provide management support and consultant services to BTG's client portfolio in Ireland. The pact will bring biotechnology industry experience into the Irish market, said IBV Director Robert Perryman. BTG operates a seed investment fund with €50 million under management and focuses on biopharmaceuticals, oncology, diseases of aging and neuroscience. The level of venture capital investment in Irish life sciences firms has been historically low, although Perryman said the picture improved somewhat during the final six months of 2003, and the outlook for the first half of 2004 is similar.

• Micromet AG, of Munich, Germany, entered a manufacturing partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, to produce an antibody in Phase II trials on the treatment of prostate cancer. The antibody, MT201, was developed by Micromet. Under the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will supply Micromet with material for clinical trials and future commercialization. Micromet could license Boehringer Ingelheim's technology for manufacturing the antibody, while Boehringer Ingelheim has an option on commercial manufacture of the antibody. Specific financial details were not disclosed.

• Nautilus Biotech, of Evry, France, developed enhanced IFNbeta molecules, engineered to have a substantially increased half-life. The molecules, developed using Nautilus' technology for prostate evolution, show higher levels of stability in vitro compared to natural IFNbeta, including higher thermal stability, as well as higher resistance to biological clearance.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia-Antipolis, France, reported a rise in its net loss to €19.5 million in 2003 from €15.7 million in 2002. Its revenues shrank to €1.4 million in 2003, from €5.5 million in 2002. Its cash reserves stood at €40.1 million at the end of 2003, down from €57.3 million at the end of 2002.

• Opisodia SAS, a division of OPi SAS, of Lyon, France, signed a contract manufacturing funding and alliance agreement with the Genopoeitic subsidiary of AVAX Technologies Inc., of Overland Park, Kan. The alliance will combine Genopoeitic's facilities, personnel and know-how in the cell and gene therapy area with Opisodia's facilities and personnel that have capabilities for fermentation, purification and know-how to produce purified solutions of monoclonal antibodies. Also, the alliance will produce OPi's Leukotac (inolimomab) anti-IL2 receptor antibody in Phase II trials for acute graft-vs.-host disease and AVAX's autologous cell vaccines for clinical and commercial purposes in Europe and the U.S. AVAX will receive $1.5 million for each of the next two years.

• PamGene International BV, of s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, is integrating intelligent device management (IDM) software from Questra Corp., of Redwood City, Calif., into a microarray testing platform PamGene is designing for the drug development market. The PamStation96, a fully automatic 96-array platform for high-throughput applications in drug development, will be equipped with Questra IDM software that monitors the device's operations and performance.

• Pevion Biotech Ltd., of Bern, Switzerland, and AlgoNomics NV, of Ghent, Belgium, entered a one-and-a-half-year collaboration to rationally design RSV-derived peptides for use in vaccines. AlgoNomics' Tripole technology combines protein modeling knowledge with peptide design techniques to explore the interaction between peptides and proteins. Combining structural bio-informatics and in vitro peptide analysis, AlgoNomics will unveil specific peptide sequence motifs designed to elicit an antibody response when formulated with Pevion's virosome technology. Pevion was founded in 2002 as a joint venture of Berna Biotech AG, also of Bern, and Bachem AG, of Bubendorf, Switzerland.

• PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, UK, sold its interest in Revivicor Holdings Inc. for $400,000, as the wind down of the company continued. Revivicor was set up in April when PPL sold its U.S. subsidiary, PPL Therapeutics Inc., of Blacksburg, Virginia, along with intellectual property in the area of stem cell research and xenotransplantation. As part of the sale, PPL received stock worth $1 million, which it has now sold. PPL also announced the sale of intellectual property relating to gene targeting to Exeter Life Sciences Inc., for $150,000. Exeter earlier acquired PPL's nuclear transfer technology.

• Protherics plc, of Runcorn, UK, said John Brown now is a nonexecutive director. The former CEO of Acambis plc also is a nonexecutive director at Pharmagene plc and Onyvax Ltd.

• Serono SA, of Geneva, said European regulatory authorities approved its Gonal-f Filled-by-Mass solution for injection in a prefilled pen, which delivers its recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone. The product will carry the same indications as the currently marketed infertility treatment. Also, Serono signed a deal to gain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Kappaproct, a product from InDex Pharmaceuticals AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and potentially other inflammatory diseases. Kappaproct is an antisense inhibitor of the p65 protein, an activator of the pro-inflammatory NF-kappa B pathway. InDex will receive an initial fee and potential milestone payments related to development progress, regulatory submissions and approvals, as well as research and development funding. If Kappaproct is developed and registered worldwide in at least one indication, the payments could reach $35 million. InDex would also receive undisclosed royalties on sales.

• Solexa Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, was awarded a government grant of £1.5 million (US$2.85 million) to support a collaborative research project to develop new bioinformatics tools for the comparative analysis of whole genomes from different individuals. The collaborative partners are the European Bioinformatics Institute, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Imperial College in London.

• Symphogen A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, received a $2.5 million investment from Vaekstfonden, a government-backed venture fund. The company, which has raised a total of $25 million, said it is planning to initiate a second round of venture financing. Symphogen's technology is designed to produce target-specific recombinant human polyclonal antibodies, symphobodies, to treat or prevent human disease.

• Syngenta AG, of Basel, Switzerland, entered a deal with SemBioSys Genetics Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, to gain access to the latter's oilbody-based Stratosome Biologics and StratoCapture Purification Systems for the development of Syngenta biologic products. The companies said the technologies could reduce downstream purification costs of therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Syngenta expects to use the technology across existing and future products in its biopharmaceutical pipeline. The agreement includes an up-front payment, option exercise fees, milestones and royalties for SemBioSys. More specific financial terms were not disclosed.

• Wilex AG, of Munich, Germany, reported long-term survival data at the German Cancer Society meeting in Berlin, following a Phase II trial of the monoclonal antibody Rencarex (WX-G250) in 36 patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma. Clinical benefit, defined as objective response or stabilization of previously progressive disease for at least six months, was observed in 25 percent of the 32 evaluable patients.