• Atugen AG, of Berlin, and MetaGen Pharmaceuticals GmbH, also of Berlin, agreed to evaluate Atugen's target validation technology in the research and development of MetaGen's cancer drug targets. Atugen will select and screen antisense oligonucleotides and optimize cellular delivery, as part of working to validate targets identified by MetaGen. Atugen specializes in disease pathway elucidation, particularly for parts of the PI-3 kinase pathway, which plays a role in many cancers, diabetes and wound healing. MetaGen works to develop treatments for the most prevalent and most aggressive forms of cancer. Specific financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, of Cambridge, UK, was granted clearance from the FDA to begin U.S. clinical trials of CAT-152 (Trabio) for the prevention of post-operative scarring following surgery to treat glaucoma. The study is expected to start this quarter. The antibody is in Phase III trials in Europe and CAT said it is in discussions with a number of potential marketing partners.

• Cardion AG, of Erkrath, Germany, licensed its genomics enabler technology to Pfizer Inc., of New York. The German company expects Pfizer to use the nonexclusive license to improve drug screening, target gene validation and predictive toxicology screening assays. Cardion's technology is a technique that enables production of populations of functional cell types, such as heart muscle cells, that are not otherwise accessible for investigation. Cardion is a privately held company that focuses on inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and related conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Confirmant Ltd., of Abingdon, UK, a proteomics database specialist, announced a technology software alliance with Accelrys Inc., of San Diego, to create a database of annotated proteins for use in the selection of drug targets. Confirmant will license Accelrys' GeneAtlas software product and use it to annotate the function of protein sequences contained within its Protein Atlas of the Human Genome, a database that holds 11,000 protein-coding genes and their structures, as well as the protein variants they encode. The resulting database will be marketed by both companies. Confirmant is a joint venture between Oxford GlycoSciences plc and Marconi plc, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, licensed its PER.C6 human cell expression system for evaluation and use in vaccine research and has retained an option to commercialize any products that may result. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Enact Pharma plc, of Salisbury, UK, said its lead compound, Voraxaze, has been granted European orphan drug status. The compound is a treatment for methotrexate toxicity during cancer therapy. Clinical trial results showed Voraxaze can reduce dangerously elevated serum methotrexate levels by around 98 percent within 15 minutes of administration.

• Equinet Venture Partners AG, a private equity firm based in Frankfurt, Germany, has reached its first closing for its new fund, Venture Capital Rheinland-Pfalz (VRP), with a volume of €15 million. The company intends to raise a total of €30 million for the fund. The VRP fund is aimed at companies in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, across a wide area of industry sectors such as information technology, biotechnology and life sciences, nanotechnology and microreaction technology. The venture firm is part of the Equinet Group, a diversified financial company whose services range from corporate finance to investor services.

• Hybrigenics SA, of Paris, said it identified the role played by several cellular proteins required for replication of HIV-1. Among the essential proteins it focused on is LEDGF/p75, a chromatin-associated protein that is a general transcription co-regulator and is regarded as a cellular cofactor essential for HIV-1 integration. Hybrigenics carried out its work on HIV-1 in collaboration with the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Institut Cochin in Paris. LEDGF/p75 (lens epithelium-derived growth factor) was found to be involved in transcriptional regulation and cellular protection against stress-induced apoptosis. Gene silencing of LEDGF/p75 resulted in severe impairment of HIV-1 replication by as much as 80 percent, a degree that is comparable with the rate achieved with siRNAs targeting Tsg101, another known cellular partner of HIV-1 proteins essential for viral replication. Hybrigenics points out that recent work by other researchers showed that the LEDGF gene is overexpressed in HIV-1.

• Oxford BioMedica plc, of Oxford, UK, said it was awarded a UK government grant of €900,000 to fund development of 5T4, a proprietary tumor-associated antigen. 5T4 is the active immunogenic component of the company's lead product, TroVax, which will enter Phase II this year in a number of indications, including colorectal and renal cancer.

• Phoqus Pharmaceuticals plc, of West Malling, UK, raised £7 million (US$11.2 million) in a third-round funding to advance the commercialization of its electrostatic dry powder deposition technology for coating and loading of active drug compounds onto the surface of tablets for oral delivery. The money came from existing investors including Advent Venture Partners, 3i plc and Abingworth Management Ltd. Phoqus' technology adapts the principles behind office photocopiers to drug manufacturing, allowing greater dosing and accuracy, easy modification of drug-release properties, and the ability to use branding and marking as a measure against drug counterfeiting. The company raised £13 million in its second round in November 2001.

• ReNeuron Holdings plc, of Guilford, the UK's only quoted stem cell company, confirmed it is in talks that may lead to an offer for the company. Last month ReNeuron announced its lead product, ReN1869, a neurin for treating neuropathic pain, had failed in two Phase II trials. That followed a year of delays to the company's stem cell products because of problems with the stability of its human stem cell lines. At present, there is not enough money to last until the end of 2003, but because of its low share price ReNeuron has ruled out a rights issue. The shares, which are quoted on London's junior market, AIM, closed at 6 pence, up 1.5 pence, on Monday, after the talks were disclosed.

• Ribopharma AG, of Kulmbach, Germany, added John Rossi, Ronald Plasterk and David Baulcombe to its scientific advisory board. Ribopharma was founded in 2000 to develop novel drugs based on RNA interference (RNAi), using short lengths of double-stranded RNA to prevent the expression of specific genes. Rossi has been a key researcher in RNA-based therapeutics since the 1980s; Plasterk is a molecular geneticist who has worked on understanding the mechanism of RNAi; and Baulcombe led one of the first laboratories to show RNAi's potential for antiviral protection in plants. The company recently raised €2 million through a convertible loan from Abingworth Management Ltd., of London.