• Active Biotech AB, of Lund, Sweden, decided on a rights issue of new shares subject to approval at the annual general meeting scheduled April 10. The meeting also has to decide on a reduction in the per-share nominal value from SEK25 to SEK10 (US$1.19). Preferential rights will be given to the company's shareholders. A maximum of 22.5 million new class B shares will be issued, and the maximum proceeds from the new issue are SEK224.9 million. The shares will be issued at a price of SEK10 per share. Active's research and development portfolio focuses on autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and cancer.

• Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., a Pfizer Inc. unit, said it presented at the 10th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston. Data indicated that there was no apparent increase in the established risk of overall birth defects with the use of Viracept (nelfinavir mesylate). A separate study showed that taking Viracept with a moderate-calorie, low-fat meal and a high-calorie, high-fat meal boosts drug levels three to five times compared to taking it without food. Viracept, in combination with other anti-retroviral agents, is indicated for the treatment of HIV infection.

• Antex Biologics Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., said that, through its AntexPharma subsidiary, it continues to explore the potential effectiveness of its anti-infective compounds in preventing and destroying pathogenic bacteria biofilms. Based on the biofilm results to date and the earlier reported results of the U.S. Army's testing of AP158 and its analogues against anthrax, the company plans to evaluate the compounds against biofilms of Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium botulinum and Yersinia pestis.

• Applied Biosystems, of Foster City, Calif., an Applera Corp. business, said it opened a new grant program open to individuals, institutions and corporations conducting genotyping research using single nucleotide polymorphisms. The grant recipient will receive up to $250,000 in Applied Biosystems products for SNP genotyping.

• BioPure Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., said it will receive about $4 million in additional congressional funding to conduct clinical trials of Hemopure (hemoglobin glutamer - 250 [bovine], or HBOC-201) in trauma applications. The goal of the research is to obtain FDA approval of a trauma indication for a hemoglobin-based oxygen therapeutic that is stable for long periods at room and elevated temperatures. The FDA is reviewing the company's biologics license application to market Hemopure for the treatment of acutely anemic adult patients undergoing elective surgery.

• Celera Diagnostics, of Alameda, Calif., and Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., reported that the FDA granted an additional marketing clearance for the ViroSeq HIV-1 Genotyping System, covering the use of the system with the ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer. Designed to detect mutations in HIV-1 associated with drug resistance, ViroSeq is a molecular diagnostic test used by physicians as an aid in monitoring and treating HIV.

• Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., of Wellesley, Mass., reported preliminary results from a physician-sponsored study that demonstrate its compound, CpG 7909, when used in combination with Engerix-B (hepatitis B vaccine, recombinant), confers an improved and more rapid protective antibody response in severely immunocompromised patients as compared to Engerix-B alone. Protective levels of antibody were achieved with the addition of CpG 7909 even in patients who had previously failed to mount a protective antibody response to at least three prior doses of the vaccine alone. The results were presented at the 10th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston.

• Deltagen Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said William Matthews, CEO and board member, resigned. In November, the company said it was looking for a new CEO in connection with the discontinuation of its drug discovery business and realigned focus on providing tools and services to the biopharmaceutical industry. Executive management of the company will continue through its chairman, Constantine Anagnostopoulos.

• Discovery Partners International Inc., of San Diego, said that its Swiss affiliate entered an assay development and biological screening collaboration with Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, on several undisclosed targets. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

• DuPont Bio-Based Materials, of Wilmington, Del., and Statoil ASA, of Stavanger, Norway, signed an agreement to form a joint venture to develop the business involving the world's only methane-based fermentation production facility. Terms were not disclosed. Statoil will contribute the operations of its Norferm production facility, which focuses on bio-based technology. DuPont will support research to further develop products that can be produced at Norferm's Tjeldbergodden methane-based fermentation facility.

• Endovasc Ltd. Inc., of Montgomery, Texas, said it is sponsoring a small preliminary study to assess the use of Liprostin in the treatment of patients diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy. Thus far, four patients have been enrolled in the study. Endovasc is focused on cardiovascular disease and drug delivery technology.

• Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, began a Phase II trial of Aquavan injection, which is designed to be a rapid-acting sedative/hypnotic, in patients undergoing sedation during colonoscopy. The first part of the trial is a pilot study to determine the optimal dose of Aquavan injection for use in achieving conscious sedation in patients. The company will initiate the second part of the study - comparing Aquavan injection to midazolam HCl in patients undergoing colonoscopy - after completion of the first.

• The House Judiciary Committee approved a ban on therapeutic cloning Wednesday, clearing the way for a full House vote later this month. In a 19-12 vote, the committee supported legislation introduced by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) calling for a ban on reproductive cloning and research cloning or somatic cell nuclear transplant. Similar legislation passed the House in a 265-162 vote in August 2001 but died without further action at the end of the session.

• ID Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said that preliminary data from the most recent study of its FluINsure intranasal, non-live, influenza vaccine showed positive results with respect to both safety and clinical efficacy endpoints. The study enrolled 75 volunteers, 67 of whom were challenged with influenza. Among subjects who had been given placebo, 48 percent had influenza-like illness. In the two-dose group, 19 of 22 volunteers (86 percent) met no illness criteria - a statistically significant 71.4 percent reduction in illness relative to placebo. The FluINsure immunization also resulted in complete elimination of all measures of systemic illness in the two-dose group.

• Invitrogen Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., introduced the CloneMiner cDNA Library Construction Kit, designed to offer researchers a method of building libraries in a recombination-based cloning system. The CloneMiner does not require restriction enzymes in the cloning process, the company said.

• LION bioscience AG, of Heidelberg, Germany, said its shares were accepted into a new index for technology blue chips on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The TecDAX index of 30 technology issues was recently introduced by Deutsche Bourse AG, the company that oversees Germany's main Frankfurt exchange, as part of a reorganization of the German stock market.

• MDS Pharma Services, of Montreal, said it now offers 70 preclinical in vivo models available for early therapeutic target validation at the screening or later stage of development. Each of the 70 models is specific to neurological disorders.

• MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, and Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., singed a collaboration centered on drugs from natural sources. MerLion will screen its natural product collection using assays provided by Merck. Merck will progress compounds through development and will market any products worldwide. MerLion is scheduled to receive milestone payments when earned and would get royalties. MerLion would retain rights to discoveries that Merck does not select for development.

• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research awarded about $4 million in research grants in its annual fast-track research initiative and named 20 projects to be funded to stimulate innovative approaches to the field of Parkinson's disease. Grant recipients were chosen from a pool of international applications submitted by scientists. Projects were awarded to scientists from six countries and include research topics including genetic studies and neuroprotective and restorative strategies for treatment.

• NaPro BioTherapeutics Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said it applied to transfer its common stock listing to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. NaPro received on Feb. 6 a determination letter from the Nasdaq staff that NaPro no longer meets the $10 million shareholders' equity requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq National Market. In addition, on Jan. 28, the Nasdaq staff notified NaPro that the bid price of its common stock had closed below $1 per share for 30 consecutive trading days. The company said if its listing is transferred to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, NaPro will be provided 180 calendar days, or until July 28, to regain compliance with the requirement.

• Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Union City, Calif., board members declared a dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right on each outstanding share of Questcor common stock. Subject to limited exceptions, the rights will be exercisable if a person or group acquires 15 percent or more of the company's stock, or otherwise becomes an acquiring person. Under certain circumstances, each right will entitle shareholders to buy 0.001 of a share of newly created Series C junior participating preferred stock of the company at an exercise price of $10.

• RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, Md., said thymosin beta 4, a molecule found in high concentrations in blood platelets, plays a role in the repair and remodeling of tissue in diabetic and aged animals, according to findings published in the current issue of Wound Repair and Regeneration. Previously, it was reported that TB4 was effective in accelerating the healing of wounds in normal and steroid-suppressed laboratory animals. The company has been cleared to begin clinical trials and it said it anticipates beginning them shortly, using TB4 to treat chronic wounds.

• Repligen Corp., of Waltham, Mass., initiated a Phase I/II trial of triacetyluridine (RG2133), a prodrug of uridine, in patients with mitochondrial disease. The open-label study will enroll 12 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of the disease. Separately, Repligen said the FDA granted it orphan drug designation for the use of triacetyluridine in the disease.

• SomaLogic Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said it entered into an agreement with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. SomaLogic will develop aptamers for proteins supplied by the institute and institute investigators will be able to use the aptamers in specific research applications, while SomaLogic will retain the right to use them on its proteomic arrays. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Stanford University Medical Center researchers in Palo Alto, Calif., found that differences in people seem to run in the blood. The work, published in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the levels of several genes used by blood cells vary from person to person. Researchers found variations in two genes that weren't previously documented as being active in blood cells. One is a gene that makes the prion protein, which is the one altered in people who have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Another variable gene was BRCA1. Researchers also found variation in gene expression based on the time of the day the blood was drawn.

• Synthetic Blood International Inc., of Costa Mesa, Calif., said it submitted a Phase I investigational new drug application to the FDA for Oxycyte, its perfluorocarbon-based blood substitute and therapeutic oxygen carrier. The company said it has selected a study site and most other preparations have been completed.

• Unigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Broomfield, Colo., entered a collaborative plant collection agreement with BioResources International Inc., a bioprospecting company engaged in research and development of natural products from tropical biodiversity. BRI will source, collect and identify plants with ethnomedicinal use that are indigenous to Ghana, as well as provide Unigen with historical usage and taxonomic data specific to each plant.

• ViroLogic Inc., of South San Francisco, said it presented results from 20 studies using its tests characterizing HIV replication capacity and phenotypic and genotypic resistance to anti-HIV drugs at the 10th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections held in Boston. The company made four oral presentations and 16 poster sessions. The company said it believed the presentations showed the utility and benefits of its tests.