• Atrix Laboratories Inc., of Fort Collins, Colo., said it entered an exclusive North American marketing agreement with EmerGen Inc., of Salt Lake City, for the one- and three-month leuprolide product (leuprolide acetate for injection) for the treatment of endometriosis. EmerGen receives rights to develop and market the products. Atrix receives a license fee, research and development support and payments for certain milestones. Atrix would receive royalties on approved products sales. Also, Atrix would manufacture the product. Separately, Atrix said its subsidiary, Atrix Laboratories GmbH, hired 10 dental sales representatives to market the Atridox periodontal disease product in Germany. Atridox combines Atrix's Atrigel drug delivery system with doxycycline.

• BioAdvance, a Philadelphia-based organization looking to grow the biotechnology industry in southeastern Pennsylvania, said applicants could apply through www.bioadvance.com for funds to support early stage life sciences projects. The $20 million-plus Greenhouse Fund, designed to advance commercially promising therapeutics, devices and technologies from the laboratory to a point that venture capital or corporate funding sources become available, is one of several programs BioAdvance will begin to spur local business and job creation in the life sciences.

• BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lincolnshire, Ill., reported at the Diabetes Technology meeting in Atlanta positive results of preclinical testing of its calcium phosphate delivery system for the oral delivery of insulin. A single dose of the therapeutic efficacy of the formulation, CAPIC, was administered directly into the stomachs of fasted diabetic mice whose blood glucose levels were monitored for 12 hours to assess the hypoglycemic effect. CAPIC rapidly reduced the blood glucose levels by 80 percent within the first hour, and reduced glucose levels were maintained throughout the 12-hour blood-sampling period. In contrast, the same amount of insulin alone reduced glucose levels by only 20 percent in the first hour and by only 25 percent within three hours, after which time blood glucose returned to baseline.

• Biosyn Inc., of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., said it, along with five collaborating partners, was awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., for the development of an HIV-inhibiting compound, Cyanovirin-N, as a microbicide to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS. The funding will be used to advance Cyanovirin-N through preclinical development, and upon filing of an investigational new drug application with the FDA, initiation of clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of CV-N in preventing HIV transmission. The grant covers five years.

• Bio-Technology General Corp., of East Brunswick, N.J., relocated its corporate headquarters to that city from Iselin, N.J. The firm said the larger office facilities would permit further expansion by dedicating more resources to the development of its product candidates and promoting its commercial products.

• Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, and NeuroSearch A/S, of Ballerup, Denmark, initiated a Phase IIb trial of NS2330 in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The study, expected to be completed by year-end 2003, is a multicenter investigation in 400 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. NS2330 is designed to enhance the function of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, noradrenaline and dopamine, which are impaired in Alzheimer's patients, NeuroSearch said.

• British Biotech plc, of London, said that Elliot Goldstein resigned from his position as CEO and from the board. A search for a replacement was initiated, and Tim Edwards, currently chief operating officer, was appointed acting CEO. Goldstein had served as CEO for four years.

• Deltagen Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said it will launch its sales and marketing efforts in support of its new DeltaOne product line at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, which continues through Thursday in Orlando, Fla. The DeltaBase line of products is designed to help break the bottleneck of target validation by providing access to the broadest available range of Deltagen's portfolio of potentially druggable targets, the company said. DeltaOne customers can purchase knockout mice and/or phenotypic information on a per-gene basis.

• Domantis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., entered a research and license agreement to discover multiple therapeutic products based on Domantis' Domain Antibody technology. The agreement calls for the companies to collaborate on the identification and optimization of Domain Antibodies to the first two undisclosed Abbott therapeutic targets, and provides Abbott with nonexclusive access to the Domain Antibody technology for use with additional therapeutic targets. Domain will receive funding for collaborative research activities and license fees for technology access. If therapeutic products result from the collaboration or Abbott's use of the Domain technology, Domantis also would receive license fees and development milestones as well as royalties on sales.

• DOV Pharmaceutical Inc., of Hackensack, N.J., reported positive efficacy and safety results from its Phase II trial investigating two controlled-release formulations of ocinaplon, its anti-anxiety product for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The data indicated that both formulations produced statistically significant reductions in anxiety as compared to placebo after 14 days of dosing, a more rapid response than reported results for current treatments, the company said. The trial was a 14-day, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in Germany with 117 GAD patients. After two weeks of drug administration, an overall analysis revealed that both formulations produced a statistically significant decrease in Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale scores compared to placebo (p<0.01).

• Echelon Biosciences Inc., of Salt Lake City, said it was awarded $200,000 by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to develop new Lipid Chip microarrays. The technology would be used as a screening tool to discover compounds to identify and eliminate cancer cells. The grant will fund research into the cell-signaling area called lipidomics.

• Endovasc Ltd. Inc., of Montgomery, Texas, said it will make its new limb-salvage and cardiovascular drug, Liprostatin, which is approved for Phase III trials, available ahead of time for critical-need human patients in a pilot trial at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Liprostatin is a prostaglandin E-1 hormone stabilized in tiny micro spheres called liposomes, and designed to treat the effects of critical-limb ischemia.

• Evotec OAI AG, of Hamburg, Germany, completed its assay development program with Altana Pharma AG, of Konstanz, Germany. The assay program used Evotec OAI's confocal imaging reader for fast high-content cell analysis called Opera. Altana, which will receive the Opera cell analyzer by the end of the year, hired Evotec to add additional features to the device.

• Genzyme Biosurgery, a division of Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and Bio-Seal LLC, a subsidiary of Biopsy Sciences, of Tucson, Ariz., entered an agreement to jointly develop new products aimed at reducing the complications associated with biopsy procedures in the lung, liver and kidney. The companies will collaborate to develop new polymer-based products that are synthetic, bio-asborbable and expandable, and can be used to seal the wound after a biopsy procedure. Genzyme Biosurgery has agreed to provide Bio-Seal an exclusive worldwide license to use its patented Focal synthetic bio-absorbable polymer technologies in exchange for certain up-front payments, product development and milestone payments and royalties on future product sales. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• IDM Immuno-Designed Molecules, of Paris, launched a Phase II trial of its therapeutic vaccine Uvidem (DD-2) for the treatment of melanoma. The trial is open to patients with metastatic melanoma who have received no more than one chemotherapy line and whose lesions can be accurately measured. A total of 60 patients will be recruited for the trial. Uvidem is the result of research conducted at IDM and has been developed in collaboration with Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc., of Paris. Uvidem is a cell drug containing dendritic cells that have been generated using IDM's technology in the presence of interleukin-13. Dendritic cells are prepared from the patient's own leukocytes together with an antigen specific for the target cancer cells.

• Insmed Inc., of Richmond, Va., presented at the International Symposium on the Functional Role of IGFBPs at the University of Tuebingen in Germany data on its preclinical antitumor biotherapeutic, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3. Data on rhIGFBP-3 showed significant growth inhibitory effects as a single agent and enhanced the apoptotic effects of ionizing radiation, producing an additive effect on the inhibition of colony formation. Insmed said the results, along with other studies in cancer models both in vivo and in vitro, would be used to complete an investigational new drug application and, given approval, to begin Phase I trials.

• Kosan Biosciences Inc., of Hayward, Calif., entered two Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with the National Cancer Institute, a unit of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. The first involves the clinical development of 17-AAG (17-allylaminogeldanamycin), currently in Phase I trials, and the second involves developing improved geldanamycin analogues. Kosan also received an exclusive license to the institute's portfolio covering these and related compounds.

• Maxim Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, reported preclinical results suggesting that Ceplene (histamine dihydrochloride) accelerated recovery from alcohol-induced liver damage in an animal model of alcoholic liver disease. In the study, Ceplene-treated animals recovered from alcohol-induced liver injury more rapidly than the untreated control animals. Animals treated with histamine achieved normalization of ALT and AST levels in about half the time experienced by the control animals. A second alcohol-damage study demonstrated that histamine treatment also prevented the decrease of IL-1 receptor antagonist mRNA levels, maintaining normal levels of that anti-inflammatory cytokine that blocks the pro-inflammatory IL-1 cytokine family.

• MultiCell Technologies Inc., of San Diego, said it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to study the production of therapeutic plasma proteins by immortalized, nontumorigenic human hepatocytes. The award will be used to compare the function of MultiCell's hepatocyte-derived products to recombinant and plasma-derived therapeutic plasma proteins.

• Nanogen Inc., of San Diego, said its board authorized a stock repurchase program under which it may from time to time purchase up to 10 percent of its outstanding common stock. Any such purchases may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be begun or ended at any time. As of Oct. 29, Nanogen had about 22 million shares outstanding.

• Nexell Therapeutics Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said five of its board members resigned, as did its president, CEO, chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary, pursuant to a plan to liquidate and dissolve the company. Its only remaining director, Victor Schmitt, is an employee of Baxter Healthcare Corp., of Deerfield, Ill., which agreed to acquire Nexell's Series B preferred stock. Baxter and its affiliates also agreed to accelerate the pre-existing put of their stock to Baxter International Inc., convert a portion of such stock sufficient to give them ownership of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock, and then, as majority holders of common stock, approve the plan of liquidation and dissolution by written consent. Baxter and its affiliates now own about 18.2 million shares, representing 51 percent of the 35.6 million outstanding.

• Pharmos Corp., of Iselin, N.J., said its lead CB2 receptor agonist (CB2-selective) compounds demonstrated efficacy in several animal models for pain. Pharmos is presenting data this week at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Orlando, Fla. In carrageenan-induced paw edema, a model for inflammatory pain, the lead compounds (PRS-211,096/359) exhibited a linear dose-response curve with an efficacy equal to that of morphine for both tactile and thermal hyperalgesia. Pharmos' CB2-selective agonists are bicyclic cannabinoids, a family of compounds within Pharmos' non-pychotropic synthetic cannabinoid library.

• Pharsight Corp., of Mountain View, Calif., said it does not plan to appeal the notification it received from The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. indicating that its common stock had not maintained a minimum bid price per-share requirement of $1. As a result of Pharsight's inability to regain compliance within 90 days, its securities are scheduled to be delisted from Nasdaq at the opening of business on Nov. 8. Its stock (NASDAQ:PHST) fell 19 cents Monday, or 38 percent, to close at 31 cents.

• Repligen Corp., of Waltham, Mass., said the FDA approved a supplemental new drug application for SecreFlo to aid in the location and cannulation of the pancreatic ducts in patients undergoing ERCP, a procedure in which a cannula is inserted into the pancreas to diagnose or treat multiple conditions of the pancreas. SecreFlo already is approved for stimulation of gastrin secretion to aid in the diagnosis of pancreatic exocrine dysfunction of chronic pancreatitis and for stimulation of gastrin secretion to aid in the diagnosis of gastrinoma.

• Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, updated at the American Association of Cancer Research symposium its research program in ubiquitin ligases, of which it has identified a number and linked with a specific function or disease state. Rigel said it has a series of potential ligase inhibitors that block proliferation of several types of tumor cells in culture and is working to identify the most promising drug candidates to move into clinical evaluation.

• Romark Laboratories, of Tampa, Fla., said nitazoxanide significantly reduced the duration of diarrhea and the rate of death in malnourished children with Cryptosporidium infection, based on a study published in the Nov. 2, 2002, issue of The Lancet. Cryptosporidium is a waterborne protozoan that causes diarrhea that normally lasts up to two to three weeks. There is presently no FDA-approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis. Nitazoxanide is marketed throughout much of Latin America and is being studied in the U.S.

• SurroMed Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., and the University of California at Davis entered an agreement to use SurroMed's technology in the search for biological markers of autism. SurroMed will analyze clinical samples from children with autism provided by the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. SurroMed will perform the analysis in SurroMed's Biomarker Discovery Laboratory using its integrated platform for proteomic, metabolomic and cytometric analysis. SurroMed also will use its suite of informatics tools to provide reports of the analyses.

• Transition Therapeutics Inc., of Toronto, said it intends to raise up to $2.5 million to advance clinical studies through the issuance of up to about 7.1 million common shares at a price of 35 cents each. Transition, which expects to close the financing by Nov. 22, has commitments of about $1.5 million, including $500,000 from its chairman and CEO and about $1 million from vendors of the special warrants from Stem Cell Therapeutics Inc. The latter commitments are contingent on the completion of transactions into which Transition entered to acquire 17.6 million Series A special warrants and 4 million Series B special warrants of Stem Cell from Curtis Investment Corp. and Cavendish Investing Ltd. Upon exercise of the special warrants, Transition would own about 46 percent of the outstanding shares of Stem Cell. In addition, Transition would hold share purchase warrants that, if exercised, would increase Transition's holdings in Stem Cell to about 57 percent.

• Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Durham, N.C., said the FDA accepted for review its new drug application for marketing approval of Coviracil to treat HIV. Triangle said it hopes to have the application approved as early as the third quarter of next year. Triangle expects to file for European marketing approval by the end of the year.