• Amersham Biosciences, of Piscataway, N.J., launched the GenomiPhi DNA Amplification Kit, designed to simplify the DNA preparation process and enable DNA to be prepared from limited biological material. The isothermal method employed by the kit allows microgram quantities of DNA to be produced overnight from nanogram amounts of starting material.

• Aventis Pasteur SA, of Lyon, France, said it will transfer, at no cost, samples of its proprietary cell line to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for use in isolating and growing the coronavirus, suspected of causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Aventis Pasteur said it was contacted by government officials April 3, requesting assistance in conducting research for a vaccine to protect against SARS. The samples were shipped three business days later.

• Axcan Pharma Inc., of Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, said it is commencing a cash tender offer of $8.75 per share for all outstanding shares of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Raleigh, N.C. The offer represents a 40 percent premium to Salix's average closing share price over the past 30 days and an aggregate value for Salix of about $203 million. The offer is being made by Saule Holdings Inc., a wholly owned Delaware subsidiary of Axcan. In a letter to Salix shareholders, Leon Gosselin, Axcan CEO and chairman, said that the company has made "several attempts to discuss the possibility of a strategic transaction with representatives of Salix, and each time our efforts have been unsuccessful to the detriment of Salix's stockholders. The recent cancellation of a proposed meeting and continuing refusal to engage in discussions leave us no choice but to go directly to Salix's stockholders."

• Bio Kinetix Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is in the process of being acquired by RJV Network Inc. in a reverse merger, reported an initial step in its development of a potential cancer therapy. Under contract with, and on behalf of, Bio Kinetix, Bio Curex Inc. began producing the RECAF protein that may allow development of monoclonal antibodies to the highly specific carbohydrate molecule attached to that protein. Such development, if successful, may allow the engineering of a super-antibody meant to target and kill malignant cells.

• Biotech Holdings Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said it provided regulatory authorities in Mexico with further statistical analysis of studies of its Type II diabetes drug, Sucanon. The company said it believes it has met all requirements for filing. Sucanon, also known as DIAB II, is an insulin-receptor sensitizer. Sucanon is approved as a prescription treatment of Type II diabetes in Peru and China and is on sale in China on a test-market basis. The initial application for approval in Mexico was made in September 2001.

• Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel, reported the successful completion of two Phase I trials of its lead drug, CF101. In both trials, CF101 was shown to be safe at therapeutic doses and to have high oral bioavailability. The placebo-controlled trials included 53 healthy subjects. Can-Fite also said it plans to begin two separate multicenter Phase II trials in the second quarter of 2003.

• Cephalon Inc., of West Chester, Pa., was the subject of a research note from Leerink Swann & Co., explaining that Cephalon's European subsidiary, Cephalon UK, recalled 10 batches of Actiq, for breakthrough cancer pain. The recall applied only to UK distribution and was based on four fentanyl sticks out of 1,527 sampled that were found to have increased potency. Actiq sales in 2002 were $4 million in the UK, Leerink Swann said, and Cephalon estimates a loss of $2 million associated with the recall. Leerink Swann made no changes in its 2003 Actiq sales estimate of $214 million. Cephalon's stock (NASDAQ:CEPH) fell $1.65 Thursday to close at $38.50.

• Deltagen Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., is again reducing staff and restructuring. It will vacate nine premises of excess space and consolidate all its primary activities in Redwood City. The lease for that facility was renegotiated and rent was reduced. Through the moves, Deltagen reduced its aggregate future minimum lease commitments from 2003 forward by about $70 million with a cash savings in 2004 of about $8 million. The reductions are contingent on the successful completion of the private placement announced April 4 and other conditions. Deltagen also reduced its debt obligations by paying off its $10 million term loan and about $2.3 million of other debt. Deltagen also reduced its work force from about 200 to 150, the cuts coming from the research and development and administrative functions. Deltagen restructured in October and reduced its staff by 130 positions, or 30 percent at the time. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 3, 2002, and April 7, 2003.)

• Digital Gene Technologies Inc. of La Jolla, Calif., said its researchers and investigators at the Indiana Alcohol Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, reported a connection of the alpha-Synuclein gene to a quantitative trait locus for alcohol preference in alcohol-preferring and nonpreferring rats. Those results, taken with previous observations reported by the researchers, suggest that regulation of the alpha-Synuclein gene, a gene differentially expressed in alcohol-preferring rats and located in a chromosomal region known to be associated with alcohol-drinking behavior, may have effects on the risk of developing alcoholism in human populations. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, signed an assay development and screening contract to identify drug candidates for several undisclosed targets of Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland. In early 1996, Novartis decided to invest in the development of Evotec's EVOscreen uHTS technology, becoming the company's first technology development collaborator, Evotec said.

• Favrille Inc., of San Diego, entered a long-term lease for 49,000 square feet of space for new corporate headquarters, R&D and manufacturing facilities in the Sorrento Mesa area of San Diego. Favrille will move to the location later this month. The manufacturing facility is expected to be operational by the beginning of 2004. The company develops patient-specific therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

• Genta Inc., of Berkeley Heights, N.J., reported that laboratory data were published suggesting that it may be possible to determine patterns of response and resistance to Genta's cancer drug Ganite (gallium nitrate injection) in patients with refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The data were published in the proceedings of the 2003 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Ganite was originally developed as a form of cancer chemotherapy by the National Cancer Institute.

• Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., reported 96-week results from a study of Hepsera (adefovir dipivoxil 10 mg) in patients with hepatitis B "e" antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B virus. In the study, more than 70 percent of patients treated with Hepsera showed persistent suppression of HBV DNA viral replication, continued histological improvements and sustained improvements in liver function through 96 weeks. The results were presented at the 11th International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease in Sydney, Australia.

• ImClone Systems Inc., of New York, as a result of the delay in filing the company's 2002 Form 10-K results and in accordance with standard practice, received a Nasdaq staff determination indicating the company failed to comply with filing requirements. As a result, ImClone's securities are subject to delisting from the Nasdaq National Market. ImClone Systems delayed the filing based on its inability to finalize audited financial statements pending completion of an ongoing internal review.

• Immtech International Inc., of Vernon Hills, Ill., completed a pilot Phase IIa trial of DB289 to treat AIDS patients with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Lung function of approximately 90 percent of the patients treated with DB289 had improved, in some cases within three days of treatment initiation, and substantially by day 21. In addition, tolerance of DB289 treatment was excellent, the company said.

• La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, said it is closing its open-label follow-on safety study of Riquent to conserve resources but will continue the product's development. The follow-on trial was designed to collect additional long-term safety data. Riquent failed in a Phase III lupus trial in February. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 19, 2003.)

• LaunchCyte, of Pittsburgh, signed an exclusive option to license a platelet nonadhesion technology developed at the University of Pittsburgh. During the term of the license, LaunchCyte will evaluate the technology while developing commercialization and funding strategies toward the creation of a new venture. The technology is a method of applying a polymer that inhibits platelet adhesion on damaged endothelial tissue. Terms of the license were not disclosed.

• Lynx Therapeutics Inc., of Hayward, Calif., entered a service agreement with Northeastern University to study the regulation of gene expression in Antarctic icefish using Lynx's Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing, or MPSS, technology. Under the agreement, Lynx will receive payments for the genomic discovery services it performs on the samples provided. Antarctic icefish are the only vertebrate taxonomic group that does not produce red blood cells or hemoglobin. Lynx said the research may lead to new treatments and diagnostic probes for anemia, neutropenia and leukemia.

• MacroChem Corp., of Lexington, Mass., said the FDA lifted its October clinical hold on human trials of topical drugs using the company's drug-absorption enhancer, SEPA. The clinical hold release does not impose any SEPA dosage or regimen constraints on subsequent trials, which MacroChem plans to restart as soon as possible. The FDA had imposed the hold pending review of questions surrounding a 26-week transgenic mouse carcinogenicity study of SEPA performed by MacroChem in 1999. In releasing that hold, the FDA requested additional information on that 1999 study, and MacroChem agreed to provide it. Separately, the company said its CEO and president, Robert Palmisano, resigned to pursue another opportunity. Robert DeLuccia was appointed vice chairman of the board and interim president and CEO. MacroChem's stock (NASDAQ:MCHM) rose 38 cents Thursday, or 74.5 percent, to close at 89 cents.

• Nanogen Inc., of San Diego, restructured its work force to manage its resources dedicated to molecular diagnostic products. By eliminating full-time, contract and temporary positions, it is reducing its work force by about 20 percent, leaving it with about 156 employees. Nanogen expects the reorganization, along with other cost reductions, to result in net savings in operating expenses of about $5 million in fiscal year 2003. Separately, it said it launched three new products for the detection of certain genetic mutations often associated with Alzheimer's disease, Canavan disease and beta thalassemia.

• NaPro BioTherapeutics Inc., of Boulder, Colo., is offering for sale its generic cremaphor injectable paclitaxel business. Proceeds from the sale would be used for the development and commercialization of therapeutic products based on NaPro's Gene Editing and Targeted Oncology platforms, to advance its reagent and services business, and to retire $20 million of funded debt from Abbott Laboratories, of Abbot Park, Ill. NaPro's paclitaxel business generated $34.2 million in product sales and $10.2 million in gross profit in 2002. The assets to be sold include more than 100 domestic and international issued and pending paclitaxel patents, a worldwide registration dossier, worldwide development and supply agreements, inventories, and manufacturing fixed assets. The company said there is no assurance any transaction will occur. NaPro's stock (NASDAQ:NPRO) fell 16 cents Thursday, or 21.9 percent, to close at 57 cents.

• Neurochem Inc., of Montreal, said that following the second meeting of its independent Data Safety Monitoring Board, the company received a unanimous recommendation to continue its pivotal Phase II/III trial of Fibrillex in secondary AA amyloidosis. The second recommendation by the board members was based on their review of the safety data from 59 patients who have completed at least four months of the Phase II/III study.

• Panacea Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., said new findings on the diagnostic applications of its HAAH Oncology Program were published in the proceedings of the 2003 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. The HAAH program targets the enzyme human aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase for the development of both therapeutic agents and diagnostics tests for multiple cancers. The first paper presented findings related to determining the differential regulation of the ASPH gene, the gene that codes for HAAH, in cancer vs. normal tissues. The second paper described the development of a sandwich ELISA with high specificity and sensitivity for HAAH.

• Pharmacyclics Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., reported data demonstrating the mechanism of action and the potential broad utility of Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium) in cancer therapy, including as a potential monotherapy for multiple myeloma. Six abstracts describing those findings were published in the proceedings of the 2003 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers at Northwestern University and Pharmacyclics showed that a variety of steroid-sensitive, steroid-resistant, chemotherapy-sensitive and chemotherapy-resistant myeloma cell lines in vitro were very sensitive to the anti-metabolic and cytotoxic effects of Xyctrin monotherapy.

• Pyrosequencing AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it extended its distribution for Sydney, Australia-based Corbett Research Pty. Ltd.'s line of thermocycling and sample preparation products to cover Germany, France and Scandinavia.

• Sloning BioTechnology, of Puchheim, Germany, closed its Series B round of €4.3 million. The company said it would use the funds to finalize the automation of its gene synthesis technology, called Sloning. HBM Partners led the round, which included investments by DEWB and 3i.

• Telik Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said Wednesday it identified small-molecule drug candidates for cancer targets through its drug discovery technology, TRAP. It said several of those candidates resulted from collaborations between Telik and cancer research centers. Details were published in the March 2003 proceedings of the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Thursday, Telik said it formed a collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, to use TRAP to identify drug candidates active against a Roche pharmaceutical target. Financial terms were not disclosed. Telik's most advanced drug, TLK286, is in a Phase III ovarian cancer trial.

• Third Wave Technologies Inc., of Madison, Wis., and EraGen Biosciences Inc., of Madison, Wis., settled Third Wave's patent infringement lawsuit against EraGen. Third Wave filed suit against EraGen in September in U.S. District Court, alleging that EraGen's Gene Code products infringed two Third Wave patents related to invasive cleavage structure technology. The court in March issued a Markman ruling confirming Third Wave's interpretation of the patent claims at issue. The settlement states EraGen, without admitting infringement, will cease and desist from the development and sale of its Gene Code products 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3 and it agreed not to use technologies employing invasive cleavage. Eragen will continue to offer Gene Code 2.0 and Multi-Code. Third Wave agreed to dismiss the lawsuit against Eragen and to issue a covenant not to sue under certain Third Wave patents. Financial and other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

• The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock received a five-year grant of $5.1 million for research on aging. The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System will share the grant from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Scientists at UAMS and CAVHS are studying metabolic changes associated with increased longevity.