• Astex Technology Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, said its research collaboration with AstraZeneca AB using high-throughput X-ray crystallography to solve the structure of human cytochrome P450, will be extended three years. Financial details were not disclosed. P450s are enzymes involved in drug metabolism, and Astex is looking at their structure both alone and in complex with AstraZeneca's compounds, opening up new prospects in drug activation and drug rescue.

• BioTissue Technologies AG, of Freiburg, Germany, applied for bankruptcy protection. The company reported that advanced negotiations with investors to buy additional shares, as part of a capital increase approved by BioTissue's board in June, had not been completed as expected. BioTissue thus did not meet liquidity demands incorporated in German law and as a result is seeking bankruptcy protection. The company's business is proceeding while the board negotiates with the bankruptcy administrator. BioTissue was founded in 1997 as a spin-off from the Freiburg University Teaching Hospital and specializes in tissue engineering, specifically growing human tissue from autologous cells under laboratory conditions. It went public in December 2000 with a listing on the Neuer Markt, and moved to the less-demanding domestic segment of the Deutsche Boerse in April following the Neuer Markt's dissolution.

• Curacyte AG, of Munich, Germany, received FDA permission to begin a Phase I study of pyridoxalated hemoglobin polyoxyethylene (PHP) as an adjunct to high-dose interleukin-2 therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma or melanoma. The compound already is in a Phase III study for distributive shock, and the new trial will seek to establish a new indication. The company believes PHP could decrease the incidence of dose-limiting hypotension and shock. This action could improve the outcomes of IL-2 antitumor therapy. The study will be conducted at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

• Mologen AG, of Berlin, published positive results from a Phase II test of the company's immunomodulator dSLIM in combination with chemotherapy for patients with metastasized colon cancer. The patients in the study did not show any side effects, apart from those associated with the standard chemotherapy. Patients in the dSLIM parts of the study showed higher incidences of complete and partial remission than those in other arms of the study, but the company cautioned that a clear correlation with dSLIM would have to await a fuller evaluation of the data. The company expects to test dSLIM in combination with established chemotherapies for kidney and intestinal cancer. Separately, Mologen began a study to investigate the effectiveness of a DNA vaccine to protect dogs against leishmaniosis. The vaccine consists of a proprietary vector outfitted with a combination of genes from the parasite that causes leishmaniosis. The same parasite causes the disease in humans, and a successful canine vaccine could be a significant step toward a vaccine effective in humans. The test is being carried out by the company's Spanish subsidiary, Mologen Molecular Medicines SL, of Madrid, and the Universitat Aut noma de Barcelona.

• NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said it successfully concluded a Phase I clinical program of NS2359, which is in development for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The compound, which is thought to enhance the activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin, was found to be safe and well tolerated in five separate studies involving 125 healthy volunteers. The studies also provided indications of efficacy, the company said, and yielded dose-finding data that will support the design of a Phase II trial. NeuroSearch plans to commence a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study of NS2359 in 100 adult patients in the U.S. before year-end.

• NovusPharma SpA, of Milan, Italy, plans to move pixantrone into a Phase II trial for treatment of relapsed, aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, following promising data obtained from an open-label Phase I combination study involving 19 patients. Eleven of the participants exhibited an objective response, the company said, and six achieved complete tumor disappearance. The subjects received pixantrone in combination with cytarabine, methylprednisolone and cisplatin, a variation of the standard ESHAP regimen, with pixantrone replacing etoposide. NovusPharma, which entered a merger agreement with Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, last month, already has commenced a Phase III study of pixantrone for treatment of NHL.

• Onyvax Ltd., of London, presented interim data from a Phase IIa trial of it Onyvax-P prostate cancer vaccine, showing that 20 out of 26 evaluable patients who previously failed hormone therapy showed no evidence of clinical deterioration. The median time to progression of the disease was projected to be in excess of 48 weeks, and that figure is anticipated to increase as the data matures. One-third of patients had a statistically significant decrease in levels of the blood marker prostate-specific antigen, and there also was a correlation between disease stabilization and cytokine responses, providing immunological evidence supporting efficacy.

• Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, disclosed interim data from a Phase I/II trial of its gene therapy product MetXia in treating breast cancer. The trial is using an improved formulation of the product, which is intended to improve gene delivery to tumors and to confirm that MetXia promotes a systemic immune response. Data from the first patients show that delivery of the gene to tumor cells is 10 times better than in the previous trial, and patients are mounting an antitumor immune response. Oxford BioMedica also said it has applied for approval of a Phase I/II UK trial of MetXia in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

• Oy Jurilab Ltd., of Kupio, Finland, licensed its new drug metabolism enzyme (DME) test, a microarray-based genetic test designed to screen participants in clinical trials, to Orion Corp. of Espoo, Finland. The test detects the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms that are found in eight different DMEs, most of which, the company said, are associated with reduced or a complete lack of enzymatic activity. The resulting pharmacogenomic profiles can assist interpretation of clinical data, and potentially can aid optimum administration of the actual drug.

• SkyePharma plc, of London, said Phase III trials began of an oral, controlled-release version of Requip, GlaxoSmithKline plc's Parkinson's disease treatment. The daily formulation uses SkyePharma's Geomatrix drug delivery technology.

• Xcellsyz Ltd., of Newcastle, UK, said it received a £500,000 (US$824,347) second-tranche investment from existing investors after it hit certain milestones agreed to in September 2002. The company, which uses conditionally immortalized cell lines for drug discovery in diabetes and obesity, said it will be looking for further funding later this year.