• Adherex Technologies Inc., of Ottawa, Ontario, entered a screening agreement with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., which will evaluate the anticancer effects and vascular-targeting capabilities of compounds from Adherex's library of cadherin antagonists. The institute will assess the selected drug candidates in vitro as well as in preclinical animal models. The classes of agents to be included under the agreement include peptide cadherin antagonist compounds for N-cadherin, E-cadherin, desmogleins, VE-cadherin and OB-cadherin, as well as Adherex's third-generation, small-molecule, non-peptide cadherin antagonists.

• Agouron Pharmaceutical Inc.'s AG7088 was a subject in a report in Science that suggested that the viral main proteinase in the coronavirus thought to be responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome might be a likely target for therapy. The proteinase controls the activities of the coronavirus replication. A study in Germany determined crystal structures for human coronavirus and for an inhibitor complex of porcine coronavirus, then constructed a homology model for SARS coronavirus. Researchers said the virus might be able to be treated by a modified version of AG7088, a rhinovirus protease inhibitor in development to treat the common cold. Agouron, of San Diego, is a unit of Pfizer Inc.

• Altachem Pharma Ltd., of Edmonton, Alberta, said the Ethics Committee for the Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal approved the protocol to allow Altachem to commence a Phase I trial of ACP-HIP in Kaposi's sarcoma. ACP-HIP is a natural compound thought to be active against the causative viral agent of Kaposi's sarcoma. The trial will be conducted at the Centre Hospitalier.

• Applied Biosystems Group, of Foster City, Calif., a unit of Applera Corp., released its Mouse Assays-on-Demand gene expression assays that represent the latest addition to its Assays-on-Demand line that includes more than 18,000 gene-specific assays for human genes. The company also released its 7900HT Micro Fluidic Card, an assay system designed for customization with its Assays-on-Demand products for use on the Applied Biosystems Prism 7900HT Sequence Detection system.

• Applied DNA Sciences Inc., of Los Angeles, said it plans to market a DNA-embedded microchip security access system to North America and Europe. The Applied DNA Security Access system is expected to be introduced at the 13th Annual CTST 2003 Conference and Exhibition at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., May 13-15. The system is used for ID verification, card counterfeit protection and personnel access control, among other things, the company said. It uses production techniques to process non-human DNA for integration into a non-silicon based microchip.

• Aradigm Corp., of Hayward, Calif., paid about $2 million in cash to acquire selected assets of publicly held Weston Medical Group plc, of Cambridgeshire, UK. Included in the purchase is test and production equipment, intellectual property and other assets associated with Weston's Intraject needle-free delivery technology being developed to deliver biotherapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, proteins and small-molecule drugs. Weston's commercial agreements covered the Intraject delivery of the hepatitis C product Pegasys (PEG-interferon alpha-2a) with F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., of Basel Switzerland; the migraine product Imitrex (sumatriptan) with GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London; and an option agreement for undisclosed products with Abbott Laboratories Inc., of Abbott Park, Ill.

• AusAm Biotechnologies Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., said it raised $5.5 million after closing a Series B round of financing. The company, which raised $2.1 million in a previous round in July, said it would use the funding to push its antiviral drug candidate into clinical studies and further promote its kidney and cardiovascular disease diagnostic products in the U.S. and Europe.

• Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, entered an agreement to acquire GTB GenTherapeutika Berlin-Buch GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schering AG, of Berlin. The acquisition of the production plant is designed to expand Bavarian Nordic's international production network for its MVA-BN vaccines. The company said the Berlin facility would support manufacturing of clinical batch materials to accelerate its development programs. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Corixa Corp., of Seattle, said its partner, GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, filed for European approval of Fendrix, a vaccine designed to prevent hepatitis B infection in high-risk groups such as pre-hemodialysis and hemodialysis patients. The product combines GlaxoSmithKline's Bio hepatitis B antigen with Corixa's MPL adjuvant, and its filing represents the first such event for an infectious disease vaccine that contains the adjuvant - a derivative of the lipid A molecule found in Gram-negative bacteria.

• Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., presented the first human data on its cephalosporin antibiotic, CAB-175, at the 13th European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases that ended Tuesday in Glasgow, Scotland. A Phase I study indicated that a single dose of CAB-175 up to 1,000 mg was tolerated by normal, healthy male subjects. Data from animal studies of CAB-175 demonstrated efficacy in a model of pulmonary infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in both fibrin clot and thigh tissue models and deep-seated skin and skin structure infections.

• Ecopia BioSciences Inc., of Montreal, reported the discovery of a lead compound, ECO-14401, a new chemical entity (NCE) with antifungal activity. Earlier this year, Ecopia reported the discovery of the first two compounds, ECO-02301, a potential antifungal agent of a new chemical class, and ECO-04601, an NCE with anticancer activity.

• Egea Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, said it formed an exclusive research collaboration with Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., to develop at least six optimized protein pharmaceutical products. Egea will work with Centocor to discover protein biomedicines and will use its gene synthesis technology to create candidates for Centocor. Financial terms were not disclosed. Centocor is a unit of Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J.

• Galapagos Genomics NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, released FleXSelect, a full-length, human gene adenoviral expression library jointly developed with Incyte Corp., of Palo Alto, Calif. Containing more than 1,200 fully sequence-verified, mainly druggable human genes, the arrayed adenoviral library is designed for gene function discovery and validation of in vitro and in vivo assays of disease phenotypes.

• Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., said a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved its $1.35 million cash acquisition of substantially all of the assets of DNA Sciences Inc., of Fremont, Calif. Genaissance said it expects to enter into a modification of a license agreement, relating to the purchased assets, that will result in a net cost of the purchase, including all legal and advisory costs, of about $1 million. Privately held DNA Sciences is an applied genetics company focused on developing DNA diagnostics.

• Hemispherx Biopharma Inc., of Philadelphia, entered a research collaboration with the Genome Institute of Singapore, a government-funded research institute, to test its lead products in treating SARS. Hemispherx plans to test its Alferon N product, which already is approved in Singapore, and Ampligen, a double-stranded RNA experimental drug active in coronaviruses. Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a human coronavirus.

• Immunomedics Inc., of Morris Plains, N.J., said it would appeal a decision in its patent infringement suit against Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., and C.R. Bard Inc., of Murray Hill, N.J. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled against Immunomedics in response to the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, a decision that stemmed from Immunomedics' suit filed in February 2000 alleging that the ProstaScint product of Cytogen and Bard infringed U.S. Patent No. 4,460,559 that claims a method for detecting and localizing tumors. Immunomedics said the U.S. court of appeals for the federal circuit is expected to hear the appeal argument late this year, with a decision expected in the first half of next year.

• InterMune Inc., Brisbane, Calif., reported that in vitro studies of its antibiotic, oritavancin, demonstrated activity against European isolates of susceptible and resistant strains of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Enterococcus. Oritavancin and comparator agents were tested against susceptible and resistant strains of those bacteria collected from patient specimens in 15 countries in Europe in 2000-01. Oritavancin was shown to be 32-fold more active than vancomycin and other drugs evaluated. Also, it showed consistent activity against all strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae tested, regardless of resistance to other antimicrobial agents, the company said. The discovery was reported at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases that ended Tuesday in Glasgow, Scotland.

• NexMed Inc., of Robbinsville, N.J., said it will release preliminary results from two pivotal Phase III Alprox-TD studies in mid-June. Completed in December, the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies included about 1,400 patients and were designed to confirm the efficacy and safety of Alprox-TD in patients with all forms of erectile dysfunction.

• NicOx SA, of Sophia Antipolis, France, reported pharmacokinetic results of a Phase I study of HCT 1026 in Alzheimer's disease showing penetration of the blood-brain barrier and the presence of effective drug concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid after repeated oral dosing. HCT 1026 is a nitric oxide-donating derivative of flurbiprofen. Nitric oxide is capable of preventing or repairing injury to the gastrointestinal tract, a side effect of chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that can reduce the risk and delay the clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease.

• Palatin Technologies Inc., of Cranbury, N.J., began enrolling patients in an at-home, Phase IIb study of PT-141, its investigational drug for erectile dysfunction. The 260-patient, multicenter, U.S.-based, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial will study four doses of intranasal PT-141 vs. placebo. Patients will have moderate to severe erectile dysfunction and a history of responsiveness to therapy with Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra. The four-week trial's primary endpoint will be a measure of the change in a patient's erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function score after PT-141 treatment vs. baseline. Palatin said it expects results in the third quarter.

• Pepscan Systems BV, of Lelystad, the Netherlands, entered an agreement to license its lead prostate cancer vaccine to PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc, of Oxford, UK. Pepscan will manage the project through Phase I trials, after which Powderject will be responsible for further clinical testing, regulatory approval and marketing. Though specific financial details were not disclosed, Pepscan received an up-front fee and is due milestones and royalties, as applicable.

• Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., began a Phase II trial of methylnaltrexone (MNTX), its investigational drug for post-operative ileus, a paralysis of the gastrointestinal tract that often occurs after surgery. A multicenter, randomized, double-blinded study is being conducted in 60 individuals who have undergone colectomies, a surgery that can have a long period of ileus, often five days or more. Study medication will be administered every six hours until the recovery of bowel function. Endpoints include restoration of bowel function and discharge eligibility. Progenics said it plans to begin a Phase II study of MNTX later this year in women who have undergone hysterectomies.

• StemCells Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., entered an agreement to raise $6.5 million through the sale of 4 million common shares at $1.625 apiece to The Riverview Group LLC, of New York. The agreement, which remains subject to regulatory approval, also provides for issuance of a warrant for an additional 1.898 million shares exercisable at $1.50 apiece. StemCells said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including further investigation of preclinical results in spinal cord injury and Batten disease. Riverview had previously purchased $5 million of StemCells' 3 percent convertible preferred redeemable stock, converting $3 million of its initial purchase to date.

• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, Md., submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA for SPI-0211, a chloride channel activator, in treating postoperative ileus. The submission includes a protocol for a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II safety and efficacy study.

• Thomas, McNerny & Partners LLC, of New York, raised $216 million for investing in companies at all stages of development in the medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as related fields. The firm said it "typically seeks to lead financings," and invests about $10 million to $20 million per company.

• Transplantation Technologies Inc., of Toronto, changed its name to Trillium Therapeutics Inc. The privately held company, which is developing therapies for the treatment of immune-mediated conditions, also named Robert Uger its director of research and development.

• United Therapeutics Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said results from a one-year study in which United Therapeutics' lead product, Remodulin, demonstrated safety and efficacy for HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension were reported in the recent issue of Spanish Review of Cardiology. The article, the company said, is the first in a peer-reviewed journal to report success in treating HIV-associated pulmonary hypertension with prostacyclin analogue. Remodulin received FDA approval in May 2002 as a continuous subcutaneous infusion for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients with NYHA Class II-IV symptoms to diminish symptoms associated with exercise, and is approved to treat HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. (See BioWorld Today, May 24, 2002.)

• Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of King of Prussia, Pa., reported positive Phase II results at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Glasgow, Scotland, of its lead product, anidulafungin, as a potential therapy for invasive candidiasis/candidemia. Efficacy of a loading dose of 200 mg or 150 mg intravenous anidulafungin, followed by daily doses of 100 mg or 75 mg intravenous, respectively, was observed at the end of therapy and at a follow-up visit two weeks later. Anidulafungin was well tolerated at all doses. The results were used for a randomized, controlled, double-blinded Phase III trial using a 200-mg loading dose followed by a 100-mg daily maintenance dose.

• Virogenomics Inc., of Portland, Ore., said the FDA granted orphan drug status to VG1000 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Virogenomics holds an exclusive license to commercialize the drug, which was discovered by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University. VG1000 is designed to target T cells that cause inflammation and myelin damage in the brain and spinal cord. In animal models of MS, treatment with VG1000 restored normal neurological function, Virogenomics said.