• Amphora Discovery Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., raised $23 million in a Series B round of financing. The privately held firm said it would direct the funds to expand and commercialize its multidimensional drug discovery products. Amphora combines its library and microfluidic assay technology with its data analysis software to measure chemical activity across related target groups and disease pathways. The financing was co-led by existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, of Chicago; MPM Capital, of Boston; Venrock Associates, of New York; CW Group, of New York; and Versant Ventures, of Menlo Park, Calif.

• Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, sold for $24.1 million a portion of its future royalty stream on North American sales of docosanol 10 percent cream, also known as Abreva, to Drug Royalty USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Drug Royalty Corp., of Toronto. Terms provide for an initial payment of $20.5 million that was received Dec. 4. Avanir retains rights to 50 percent of royalties earned on sales of Abreva in excess of $62 million a year. Avanir will receive an additional $3.6 million from Drug Royalty upon approval of the extension of one of Avanir's patents. Avanir retains rights to all current and future royalties from product sales in the rest of the world, as well as the rights to other potential product indications, such as HSV2 and herpes zoster. Avanir's stock (AMEX:AVN) rose 23 cents, Thursday, or 24.5 percent to close at $1.17.

• Alkermes Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said about $196.8 million in aggregate principal amount of its 3.75 percent convertible subordinated notes due 2007, or about 98.4 percent of the total outstanding, were tendered on Tuesday. Alkermes will issue $113.2 million new convertible senior subordinated notes due 2009. The company also announced the placement of about $60 million of its new convertible senior subordinated notes for cash to holders who participated in the exchange offer.

• Alteon Inc., of Ramsey, N.J., entered into a stock purchase agreement to sell about 1.7 million shares of common stock at $1.75 apiece to existing institutional investors, raising net proceeds of about $3 million. Investors include funds managed by William Harris Investors Inc., DMG Advisors LLC, Merlin BioMed Private Equity Fund LP and Vertical Ventures Investments LLC. The stock is being offered through a prospectus supplement pursuant to Alteon's effective shelf registration statement.

• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, signed a definitive agreement with Restoragen Inc., of Lincoln, Neb., to acquire rights to a Phase II program using continuous infusion of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), targeted to treat congestive heart failure in patients ineligible for transplant. Amylin also will acquire rights to various GLP-1- related patents. Amylin will pay Restoragen about $4 million, as well as milestone payments and royalties on resultant products. Restoragen, formerly BioNebraska Inc., filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.

• AstraZeneca plc's epidermal growth fact receptor inhibitor, Iressa, continues to come under tighter scrutiny in Japan, where the lung cancer drug has been linked to 124 deaths as of Dec. 13, that country's government health agency said, according to news reports. Japan, the only country in which the London-based company's drug is approved, said it would impose more stringent rules on its use after reports of side effects in 494 cases, including the 124 deaths, since the drug went on sale in July. The new rules mandate that only doctors experienced in treating lung cancer patients will be able to prescribe Iressa and patients will have to remain in the hospital for at least four weeks after beginning treatment.

• Crucell NV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said it agreed with partner Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., to cease further development of the anti-CD46 antibody to treat cancer, returning to Crucell all rights to the target and antibody. Both companies said that the candidate's time to market was longer than expected.

• Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., will regain rights to ex vivo prostate cancer immunotherapy using prostate-specific membrane antigen, in connection with the termination of its agreement with Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., of Bothell, Wash. Northwest, which last month terminated the program for funding reasons, advanced the program to the beginning of Phase III trials. The company has said it is looking to extend operating capital through next year. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 12, 2002.)

• Eos Biotechnology Inc., of South San Francisco, filed an investigational new drug application for its therapeutic antibody, Eos200-4. The candidate has been shown to inhibit angiogenesis using in vitro and in vivo models. The antibody works by inhibiting the interaction between activated endothelial cells and their extracellular environment. Eos said the role of the molecular target in angiogenesis was discovered using its internal genome-wide target identification and validation capabilities.

• Genetronics Biomedical Corp., of San Diego, reached a definitive agreement to sell the non-cash assets of its BTX Division to Harvard Bioscience Inc., of Holliston, Mass., in exchange for $3.7 million in cash and a royalty on net sales of BTX products above certain sales targets. BTX sells electroporation and electrofusion products. As part of the agreement, Harvard Bioscience will acquire rights to BTX's new product line for high-throughput applications. Genetronics said it expects to complete the sale by the first week of February.

• ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Costa Mesa, Calif., obtained from the Delaware Chancery Court a temporary restraining order restricting the ability of the board of Ribapharm Inc., also of Costa Mesa, to take actions outside of the ordinary course of business pending effectiveness of ICN's removal of Ribapharm directors. ICN, which owns in excess of 80 percent of Ribapharm's outstanding stock, is seeking to remove five of Ribapharm's six directors. Under the order, the Ribapharm directors would be required to provide at least 10 business days of prior written notice to ICN. The order includes restrictions on, among other things, issuances of securities, incurrence of indebtedness, acquisitions and dispositions, and licensing transactions. Ribapharm countered, claiming that ICN's statements were false and misleading. It said ICN's action was in retaliation for attempts by Ribapharm to clarify ICN's plans regarding its spin-off, as well as a related tax-sharing arrangement between the two companies.

• Immunetrics Inc., of Pittsburgh, secured an exclusive license to a University of Pittsburgh technology for an in silico predictive software simulation process that models the inflammatory response in humans. Immunetrics said the inflammatory response is widely recognized as a fundamental trigger in sepsis, and that by enhancing the selection of lead compounds and optimizing clinical trial design, the technology would accelerate the development of new therapies designed to modulate the inflammatory response. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases said it extended $1.2 million as part of five grants on the neuropsychiatric aspects of lupus. The grants, which include funding for both basic and clinical research funding, were co-funded by the Office of Research of Women's Health.

• Pharmasset Inc., of Atlanta, reported at the HIV-DART 2002 conference in Naples, Fla., data from a study on mitochondrial toxicity describing the effects of antiviral agents on mitochondrial DNA. Specific reduction of mitochondrial DNA levels was seen for D-ddC, and for a minor extent also for D-ddl. While general toxic effects could be seen for several compounds in these series, specific mitochondrial toxicity was only detected in the 2', 3'-dideoxy-modified nucleosides.

• Pintex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Watertown, Mass., raised $7.25 million in a Series B preferred financing round. The funds will be used to continue preclinical development of Pin1 inhibitors and will move Pintex toward partnerships with pharmaceutical companies focused on oncology. POD Holding, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Zero Stage Capital, of Cambridge, Mass., led the financing. The syndicate also includes previous investors BioVentures Investors, also of Cambridge, and Canaan Partners, of Palo Alto, Calif.