• Altachem Pharma Ltd., of Edmonton, Alberta, said the Beijing Erdos Altachem Pharma Ltd. joint venture formed between Erdos Cashmere Group Corp., of Inner Mongolia, China, and Altachem has been approved by the Beijing Foreign Trade Commission to be converted and registered as a wholly owned foreign company with the registered capital remaining the same at about $19.2 million and the name of Beijing Altachem Pharma Biotechnology Ltd. Beijing Altachem Pharma has three years to have about $9.4 million re-invested. Beijing Altachem Pharma is in discussions with and is evaluating two Chinese pharmaceutical companies and one from the U.S. with equity investment interest.

• Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, said the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period expired regarding Axcan's offer for the outstanding shares of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Raleigh, N.C. The share tender offer and withdrawal rights will expire at 5 p.m. May 23, unless extended. The offer was made in April and represented a 40 percent premium to Salix's average closing share price over the 30 days preceding the offer and an aggregate value for Salix of about $203 million.

• BioCurex Inc., of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., said its board appointed Ricardo Moro-Vidal as CEO. Moro-Vidal is a founder of BioCurex and has served as its president, a title he will continue to hold. BioCurex is developing products in the areas of cancer diagnosis, tumor imaging and therapeutics.

• Boston Healthcare Associates Inc., of Boston, acquired ExperTech Associates Inc., of Concord, Mass. Privately held Boston Healthcare said the purchase would expand its commercialization and regulatory consulting services for biotechnology, diagnostic, pharmaceutical and device companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• CellGate Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., reported positive results from a randomized Phase IIa trial for psoriasis with a topical cyclosporine conjugate, PsorBan (CGC1072) ointment. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated safety and preliminary efficacy of two dose formulations of the ointment in 24 patients with mild to moderate plaque psoriasis. High-dose CGC1072 exhibited benefits over placebo in both psoriasis severity score and physician treatment preferences scores. Study results were presented Friday at the 64th annual meeting of the Society of Investigative Dermatology in Miami Beach.

• CV Technologies Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said it would raise gross proceeds of up to C$2.55 million (US$1.8 million) through its plans to issue, on a private placement basis to related parties of the company and their associates, up to 25.5 million units at C10 cents apiece. Of that, C$550,000 is expected upon closing through the issuance of 5.5 million units. The remaining units will be issued, at CV's option, in 2.5 million tranches every three months beginning no later than Oct. 31. Those not issued will remain available at CV's option until Oct. 31, 2005. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant, which are exercisable into common shares at C12 cents apiece but expire two years after being issued.

• Essential Therapeutics Inc., of Waltham, Mass., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as did its wholly owned subsidiaries, Maret Corp. and The Althexis Co. Inc. Essential said it would file a plan to provide full payment of obligations owed to certain creditors and provide for its recapitalization as a privately held entity. The company was forced into the situation after its shares were delisted from Nasdaq, resulting in a redemption of preferred shares that Essential could not afford. (See BioWorld Today, March 6, 2003.)

• Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, of Munich, Germany, said research describing the discovery of the genetic and molecular basis for motor neuron disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was published in the May 2, 2003, issue of Science. The research explains a pathogenetic mechanism of motor neuron degeneration that might allow for new therapies. Ingenium and a coalition of international research organizations conducted the research.

• IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., raised $3.5 million after issuing Series A preferred stock that will convert to about 1.8 million common shares at an effective conversion price of $1.90 apiece, subject to adjustment under certain circumstances. The shares also carry an 8 percent annual paid-in-common dividend. IntraBiotics also issued warrants to purchase about 920,000 common shares at an exercise price of $2.07 apiece, subject to adjustment under certain circumstances. IntraBiotics said it would use the funding to complete a Phase II/III trial of iseganan for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia, an infection common in intensive care patients. Kevin Tang of lead investor Tang Capital Management was named to IntraBiotics' board.

• Lilly ICOS, a joint venture between ICOS Corp., of Bothell, Wash., and Eli Lilly & Co., of Indianapolis, continues to expect FDA approval for Cialis in the second half of this year, according to Lilly comments at a Morgan Stanley conference. Cialis (tadalafil), a PDE5 inhibitor developed for erectile dysfunction, already is available in Europe, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Lilly ICOS said it continues discussions with the agency and expects to file a complete response to an approvable letter for Cialis shortly. (See BioWorld Today, May 1, 2002.)

• Lincoln Technologies Inc., of Boston, reported its participation with the FDA in a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to develop data-mining tools to assess drug safety. The CRADA involves participation by both the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Lincoln's data-mining technology has been used by the FDA with the AERS database of voluntary adverse drug reaction reports and specialized graphic visualization tools to identify unexpectedly frequent combinations of drugs and events and to organize, identify and interpret patterns in the data.

• Novocell Inc., of Irvine, Calif., closed its Series D round of financing for $4.3 million. Investors in the round included Asset Management, Alloy Ventures, BD Ventures LLC, SurModics Inc. and The Vertical Group. The funding will be used for preclinical primate studies and for applying for clinical trials of its encapsulated human insulin-producing cells for Type I and Type II diabetes.

• Optime Therapeutics Inc., of Petaluma, Calif., appointed Robert Zaugg as president and CEO. Among other positions, Zaugg served as general manager of GTS Proteomics. Optime is engaged in research, development and commercialization of therapies using drug delivery technologies based on the company's use of liposomes, called Optisomes.

• Ribapharm Inc., of Costa Mesa, Calif., began clinical testing of Hepavir B in patients with hepatitis B virus. The company continues to enroll patients in the Phase I study. Hepavir B is a nucleoside analogue that was licensed from Metabasis Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, in October 2001 as a potential treatment for chronic hepatitis B.

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., said researchers overcame the obstacle posed by the large number of defective hematopoietic stems cells (HSCs) producing faulty red blood cells in beta-thalassemia or sickle cell disease. Researchers also integrated genes into an HSC's own DNA so the HSCs function normally. The investigators said the results offer promise for developing gene therapy to treat blood diseases in humans caused by defective hemoglobin.

• StemCells Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., presented results of a preclinical study that examined its human neural stem cell (hCNS-SC) technology as a means of regenerating damaged nerve and nerve fibers in patients with spinal cord injuries, at the 10th annual conference of the American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair in Florida. Injured mice transplanted with hCNS-SC showed improved motor function in quantitative tests designed to measure functional recovery from complete hind limb paralysis to normal walking, in comparison with controls. A direct link also has been made between the amount of functional recovery and the level of human cell engraftment, StemCells said. Also, the hCNS-SC does not contribute to scarring due to glial cell proliferation, which normally inhibits neuronal cell growth and recovery. The company said the study shows "we may be able to help those with spinal cord injuries regain their mobility." StemCells' stock (NASDAQ:STEM) rose 94 cents Friday, or 127 percent, to close at $1.68.