• Atrix Laboratories Inc., of Fort Collins, Colo., launched its four-month Eligard 30-mg (leuprolide acetate for injectable suspension) product for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Atrix received approval for Eligard 30 mg in February. The four-month Eligard 30-mg product will be marketed in the U.S. by Sanofi-Synthelabo SA, of Paris, which also markets one-month Eligard 7.5 mg and three-month Eligard 22.5 mg in the U.S.

• BioPure Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., registered to sell up to 10 million shares of common stock through a shelf registration. The company said in its prospectus it planned to use proceeds for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and to meet working capital needs. As of Jan. 31, the company had $9.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, which it expected to last through the beginning of April. The company is developing Hemopure, a blood substitute, for which it has filed for approval with the FDA. BioPure's stock (NASDAQ:BPUR) rose 25 cents Thursday to close at $3.84.

• Cell Pathways Inc., of Horsham, Pa., completed enrollment in a Phase III trial of its investigational drug Aptosyn (exisulind), in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel), in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study is evaluating the combination vs. Taxotere and placebo in 600 patients with advanced disease. Its primary endpoint is increased survival (overall and one-year). Lung cancer studies of the drug, which was rejected by the FDA in September 2000 as a treatment for polyposis, were suspended by an independent monitoring board a third of its way through enrollment. Cell Pathways is in talks to be acquired by OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Melville, N.Y., in an all-stock deal valued at $32 million. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 26, 2000; Oct. 8, 2001; and Feb. 11, 2003.)

• DNAPrint Gemonics Inc., of Sarasota, Fla., entered a collaborative agreement with GeneLink Inc., of Margate, N.J., to develop genetic assessments for a personalization of cosmetics and personal care product marketing. The agreement also named DNAPrint as GeneLink's genotyping partner. Further details were not disclosed.

• Emisphere Technologies Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., presented data from a study in patients with Type II diabetes that evaluated a capsule preparation of insulin using its eligen oral drug delivery technology, at the Winter Symposium and 11th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems in Salt Lake City. The study compared the two oral nonformulated dosages to an injectable insulin in 14 patients with Type II diabetes who had received a standardized meal. The data presented were part of a broader presentation on clinical results with the eligen technology.

• GeneMax Corp., of Blaine, Wash., added to its technology portfolio by expanding the license with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The technology, developed under an agreement between GeneMax and the university, is a method to identify tumor-associated antigens. The identification of immune dominant antigens will enable the development of cancer vaccines that can be patient specific, as well as antigens generalized across differing cancer types and patient populations.

• Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., released financial results for its division, Genzyme General, for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31. Revenue in the fourth quarter reached $298 million, a 12 percent increase over 2001's fourth quarter. For the year, revenue grew to about $1.1 billion, up from $981.9 million. Renagel, a phosphate binder for patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, brought in $50.8 million in the fourth quarter and $156.9 million for 2002. Cerezyme, for Type I Gaucher's disease, sold $158.9 million in the fourth quarter and $619.2 million for the year. Fabrazyme, for Fabry's disease, generated $8.9 million in the fourth quarter and $26.1 million for the year. Genzyme reported net income in the fourth quarter of $44.7 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, reflecting special items and amortization. For the year, net income was $178.5 million, or 81 cents per diluted share. Excluding special items and amortization, the company posted earnings per share of 34 cents in the fourth quarter on net income of $74.1 million. Consensus estimates were 35 cents per share, on that basis. Net income for the year on that basis was $231.6 million, or $1.07 per diluted share.

• Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Durham, N.C., completed enrollment in a 630-patient, multicenter trial of INS37217 Intranasal for perennial allergic rhinitis. The 28-day, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of INS37217 Intranasal in a non-preserved nasal spray formulation, compared to placebo. Inspire said it expects to release top-line results by the end of the second quarter. At that time, it plans to request a meeting with the FDA to discuss further development of the drug, including the additional Phase III studies required. Inspire also said it would present Phase II results at this weekend's American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology meeting in Denver.

• Nanogen Inc., of San Diego, said it commercially released the first multiplex analyte-specific reagent designed for the detection of Factor V Leiden and Factor II Prothrombin gene mutations associated with cardiovascular disease and the pathology of thrombosis. Nanogen also released its Assay ToolBox, a set of consumable products that allows customers to facilitate their own protocol and assay development on the NanoChip platform.

• NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, said its collaboration with the National Institute on Drug Abuse on the development of NS2359 for the treatment of cocaine addiction will end after the current Phase II study. The development has turned out to be longer than originally thought, it said. The trial is expected to finish in the first half of this year. NeuroSearch plans to initiate a clinical ADHD Phase II study later in 2003.

• Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said it will unveil its new automated system, DCVax-TFF, capable of isolating and purifying in less than two hours a sufficient quantity of precursor cells, or monocytes, for generating dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccines. It also will present laboratory data demonstrating the potential of the DCVax-TFF System as a catalyst for a new generation of less complicated and more cost-effective dendritic cell-based therapies.

• NovaScreen Biosciences Corp., of Hanover, Md., received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to develop a "Ligand Binding and Functional Assay-based HERG Database." NovaScreen will establish a panel of in vitro screening assays that measure the interaction of chemicals with the potassium channel encoded by the human ether-a-go-go related gene.

• Oxagen Ltd., of Abingdon, UK, and the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, were jointly awarded a £1.96 million (US$3.1 million) grant under the LINK Applied Genomics program. The three-year grant will support a genome-wide initiative to chart functional variations in the genes for G protein-coupled receptors. The program combines Oxagen's expertise in large-scale genetic analysis with yeast-based systems developed at Warwick.

• Paradigm Genetics Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., in collaboration with scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, Calif., reported the discovery of the role of heterotrimeric G protein signaling in plant cell proliferation and its association with key agronomic traits. The discovery also will enable researchers to identify the cell surface receptor associated with the G protein that in turn can be manipulated to trigger effects on crop traits, the company said.

• Senesco Technologies Inc., of New Brunswick, N.J., reported results from certain preclinical studies being conducted at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. The gene, apoptosis eucaryotic initiation Factor 5A, was correlated in ischemic heart tissue to two cytokines, interleukin-l beta and interleukin-18. IL-1 is associated with a variety of inflammatory diseases and IL-18 has been reported to cause premature programmed cell death.

• Sygen International plc, of London, said it and the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, agreed to establish and operate a funded chair of Genetic Information Systems at the university. The new partnership further strengthens Sygen's network of research collaborations.

• Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp., of Paramus, N.J., said its merger with H. Lundbeck A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, is effective. Lundbeck acquired Synaptic for about $122.5 million, and as a result, Synaptic now is a wholly owned subsidiary. Synaptic uses its portfolio of G protein-coupled receptors for drug development. The merger was originally announced in November. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 22, 2002.)

• Unigene Laboratories Inc., of Fairfield, N.J., filed a new drug application with the FDA for Fortical, a formulation of nasal calcitonin. Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc. is scheduled to package, market and sell the product, if approved, in the U.S.

• Viron Therapeutics Inc., of London, Ontario, said it completed a Phase I trial of VT-111, an anti-inflammatory protein. Viron said it is in negotiations for a Series C financing that would fund a Phase II trial in acute coronary syndrome. Viron was spun off from Robarts Research Institute in 1997.

• Zyomyx Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said Aventis SA, of Paris, agreed to purchase Zyomyx's complete Protein Profiling Biochip System, featuring Zyomyx's first protein profiling biochip, the Human Cytokine Biochip. Aventis will apply the system to its programs in inflammation.