• Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK said it will collaborate with Cangene Corp., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, to develop a hyperimmune globulin against West Nile virus for treating people already infected, or who are not able to generate antibodies to a vaccine because they have compromised immune systems. Acambis is developing a West Nile vaccine that it will make available to Cangene to vaccinate plasma donors to generate the hyperimmune globulin. No financial details were disclosed.

• Antisoma plc, of London, bought out royalty rights to its lead product, R1549, from Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., for an up-front payment of $500,000, plus a further $500,000 when the first commercial sale of the product is made. Cytogen was entitled to royalties of 1.65 percent of net sales of R1549 (formerly pemtumomab), through a technology license it granted to Antisoma and Cancer Research Technology Ltd., on which R1549, an antibody-directed radiotherapeutic, is based. The Phase III study of R1549 in ovarian cancer is due to finish between December and February, with results expected in the second half of 2004.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, and partner Kimron Veterinary Institute in Israel accelerated plans for a market launch of a veterinary West Nile virus vaccine they are developing. They now expect to gain approval for the product early next year, instead of later in the same year as originally anticipated. Kimron, which is part of Israel's Department of Agriculture, plans to conduct large-scale field trials of the vaccine, which is based on Crucell's PER.C6 cell line, in about 2,000 geese. If successful, it aims to use the product in advance of the 2004 mosquito season. It would replace its current vaccine, which is derived from mouse brains. Crucell will hold commercial rights for the product outside of Israel and would receive a royalty on sales within that country.

• Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, announced a license agreement with EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, Md., under which it gets access to EntreMed's angiostatin and endostatin genes for the development of locally delivered gene therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. EntreMed will receive 301,748 Oxford BioMedica shares, priced at 26.075 pence, an up-front cash payment and royalties on any sales. The companies also are exploring a research collaboration on hypoxia and hypoxia-induced diseases. Oxford BioMedica has proprietary technology, Hypoxia Response Element, an oxygen-sensitive switch for controlling gene expression, that could have applications in cancer, anemia and cardiovascular disease.

• SiREEN AG, of Martinsried, Germany, received a research grant of €1 million from the Bavarian Research Foundation to discover novel inhibitor molecules that could be used as therapies for colon cancer. The research will be conducted with three parts of the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich: the Research Center for Environment and Health, the Gene Center and the chemistry department. SiREEN is a drug discovery company focusing on structure-driven development of small-molecule inhibitors.

• SkyePharma plc, of London, said partner GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, received an additional approval for Paxil CR, for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Paxil CR is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor formulated with SkyePharma's Geomatrix, oral drug delivery technology in which a multilayer tablet controls the rate of dissolution and the site of absorption of the drug in the body. Overall Paxil sales reached $1.07 billion in the first half of 2003, and SkyePharma said Paxil CR now accounts for 30 percent of all prescriptions of Paxil in the U.S.

• Xenova Group plc, of Slough, UK, said it was extending its offer for KS Biomedix plc, of Guildford, UK, until Thursday after it received acceptances from shareholders representing 77 percent of the shares by the first closing of Sept. 4.