• Adprotech Ltd., of Oxford, UK, published the complete 3-dimensional structure of human decay-accelerating factor (DAF), an innate protein that inhibits part of the immune response. The company says it could be a target in autoimmune diseases, including Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis; in cancer, where tumor cells express DAF to deceive the immune system into treating them as normal; and in infectious diseases, where DAF is an entry point for some bacteria and viruses. The structure of DAF was elucidated in collaboration with the Oxford and Glasgow Universities and University of Wales College of Medicine.

• Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany, and Pharmacopeia Inc., of Princeton, N.J., entered a research collaboration, under which both parties will work together to identify and optimize small-molecule lead compounds in an undisclosed indication. Pharmacopeia will provide its small-molecule discovery assets, including its multimillion-compound collection of drug-like small molecules and modeling and design capabilities, to identify and optimize leads in a key therapeutic area for Altana. In return, Pharmacopeia will receive funding for its research services and will be entitled to receive additional payments upon the successful achievement of milestones, as well as royalties upon the commercialization of any resulting drugs.

• Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, entered an agreement to provide genetically engineered mice to Aventis Pharma R&D, of Strasbourg, France. Aventis will use the mice, which are derived from Artemis' ArteMice platform, to analyze genetic functions and to test drug candidates. Artemis uses mice as a model for human biology in gene function analysis and for the discovery and characterization of therapeutics for human disease. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelixis Inc., of South San Francisco. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd., of Petach-Tikvah, Israel, appointed Ashleigh Palmer chief business officer in charge of U.S. corporate development. Can-Fite develops treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company is engaged in two multicenter Phase II trials of CF101 in colorectal cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. It also is planning to initiate a Phase I/II trial of CF101 in combination with chemotherapy in the U.S. in the second quarter.

• Gamida-Cell Ltd., of Jerusalem, is anticipating that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., also of Jerusalem, will increase its $3 million investment to $60 million when Gamida-Cell's product StemEx reaches Phase II trials, said Mordechai Zisser during a press conference. StemEx's safety was demonstrated in a Phase I trial of six patients in advanced stages of leukemia and lymphoma. Phase II work will be started when 10 more patients pass the treatment safely. Teva confirmed that were it to exercise the $60 million option, it would acquire 50 percent of rights to developing and marketing the treatment, which is based on expansion of umbilical cord blood stem cells. Teva's agreement with Gamida-Cell was first announced in March.

• GeneProt Inc., of Geneva, amended its scientific collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to perform large-scale proteomic studies for different therapeutic areas. Under the new agreement, GeneProt will continue to use its large-scale proteomics platform but will accelerate the delivery of proteins to Novartis for further biological evaluation. GeneProt said it will take advantage of the platforms it has developed to perform pharmacoproteomics. Financial details were not disclosed.

• GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, expanded its multinational Phase III registration trial of satraplatin to include Europe after receiving guidance from European regulatory authorities. The company is proceeding with the SPARC (Satraplatin and Prednisone Against Refractory Cancer) trial, which is evaluating satraplatin plus prednisone vs. placebo plus prednisone as a second-line chemotherapy regimen for treating patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. In September, SPARC began in the U.S., where the drug has been granted fast-track designation. GPC's co-development partner is Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif.

• Iceland Genomics Corp., of Reykjavik, Iceland, named Dana Hosseini its president and CEO. Prior to his appointment, he served as the vice president of business development for Cyntellect Inc., of San Diego, and the director of business development for Sequenom Inc., also of San Diego. Hosseini also was named to the board of Iceland Genomics, a privately held cancer research company.

• Kamada Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla., signed an international distribution agreement for the hepatitis B drug Nabi-HB. Kamada will purchase finished Nabi-HB and will coordinate the regulatory approval process, as well as exclusively sell and distribute the drug in Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and India. Nabi expects a response from the FDA in the first half of this year concerning its biologics license application for the intravenous formulation of Nabi-HB. It also plans to apply for approval in Europe in the first half of this year.

• ML Laboratories, of Warrington, UK, announced the disposal of its pharmaceutical and biotechnology training business, Healthcare Education Services (HES) Ltd., to Bridgehead Pharmalicensing Group (BPG), of Melton Mowbray, UK, a privately held company. ML Labs has received 10 percent of BPG in exchange for 100 percent of HES, and has invested £100,000 (US$185,855) for a further 2 percent of BPG. For the year ended September 2003, HES had turnover of £1.2 million and a loss of £300,000.

• Morphochem AG, of Munich, Germany, started a multitarget collaboration with Boerhinger Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany. Boehringer Ingelheim has provided several human targets for Morphochem to apply to its MOREsystem technology. Morphochem's approach combines reaction chemistry with software based on genetic algorithms, which the company says reduces the attrition rate in candidate compounds and speeds discovery. Other details were not disclosed.

• MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, formed a new business unit, Antibodies by Design, to market HuCAL antibodies in nontherapeutic applications. Products and services offered by the division primarily will target industrial and academic institutions requiring custom-generated antibodies for use in research applications. HuCAL technology is used at MorphoSys in a number of therapeutic antibody collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, the company said.

• NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, received a payment of $5 million from Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, regarding the development of the drug candidate NS2330 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The companies signed an agreement in February 2002. A Phase II study is under way with 400 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Also, two Phase II studies are under way in Parkinson's disease. The development program is financed by Boehringer Ingelheim.

• Novogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, subsidiary Marshall Edwards Inc. said early data regarding its ovarian cancer drug phenoxodiol shows it acts as a cancer agent and a chemo-sensitizing agent that restores responsiveness to ovarian cancer cells to standard chemotherapies. Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine reported the data Sunday at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

• OctoPlus Technologies BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said controlled release of recombinant human growth hormone from OctoDEX microspheres can be achieved over two weeks while maintaining functional activity of the protein. The technology is based on the formation of microspheres, in which the biopharmaceutical drug is encapsulated in its natural form.

• Oxford BioMedica, of Oxford, UK, signed a license for its LentiVector gene delivery system with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, NJ. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Oxford BioMedica will receive an up-front payment and an annual fee. LentiVector has the ability to deliver genes to a range of cells and tissue types, and Merck will use it in research.

• Paion GmbH, of Aachen, Germany, reported positive results at the 29th International Stroke Conference from its Phase II trial of desmoteplase. The company cited three significant findings in their study. First, the compound promotes dose-dependent re-perfusion. Second, re-perfusion translates into clinical improvement. Third, desmoteplase showed safety among patients treated six to nine hours after the acute events compared with those treated between three and six hours later. The study covered 102 patients in Europe, Australia and Asia. A study with the same design is ongoing at 17 centers in the U.S. Paion specializes in developing treatments for stroke.

• Proteome Sciences plc, of Cobham, UK, was awarded a government grant of £419,000 (US$778,625) for a research program to identify biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease, both to improve early detection and as new targets for therapy. There are no diagnostic assays for Alzheimer's currently. Proteome will carry out the work in collaboration with the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London.

• Protherics plc, of Runcorn, UK, filed a UK patent on the use of its Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy diagnostic technology in humans. The technology is currently being evaluated by third parties for screening blood and donated organs for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and already is applied in the post-mortem testing of cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

• Sinovac Biotech Ltd., of Beijing, said it would begin clinical testing of a vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome after receiving Chinese regulatory approval to move forward with such plans. The trial's first phase, which will last three months in Beijing, Guangdong province or the Guangxi region, will include 15 male and 15 female volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40.

• SkyePharma plc, of London, and Mundipharma International Holdings Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, launched DepoCyte, a treatment for lymphomatous meningitis, in Europe. DepoCyte, marketed as DepoCyt in the U.S., is a sustained-release, injectable formulation of cytarabine. DepoCyt was approved in the U.S. in April 1999 and is marketed in North America by Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J.

• Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, announced encouraging Phase II data from its MVA-Muc1-IL2 cancer vaccine in lung, prostate and kidney cancers. The trials are evaluating the drug in combination with chemotherapy for lung cancer, at different dosing schedules for prostate cancer, and in combination with immunotherapy for kidney cancer. The company completed enrollment in the Phase II trials in lung and kidney cancers. The trials showed good tolerance and safety at all doses, and an encouraging rate of tumor responses in lung cancer. Researchers also noticed a significant decrease in prostate-specific antigen progression rate in the prostate cancer trial.

The Wellcome Trust in London and NitroMed Inc., of Bedford, Mass., reported that NitroMed signed a licensing and commercialization agreement with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, to develop nitric oxide-based medicines for the treatment of acute renal failure. The agreement provides the universities with the use of NitroMed's intellectual property. In exchange, the company has a right of first refusal to commercialize any results from the collaborative research project.

• Xigen SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Auris Medical AG, of Lohn, Switzerland, entered an agreement for the development of therapies for ear disorders. Auris Medical obtained a worldwide exclusive license to use Xigen's intracellular peptides for the development and marketing of pharmaceutical products in the area of ear disorders. In addition, the partners agreed to collaborate in the development of new compounds for the treatment of ear disorders and in preclinical and clinical programs. Auris made an undisclosed up-front payment to Xigen, and Xigen is entitled to milestone payments based on progress and sales. Financial terms were not disclosed.