¿ Active Pass Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, completed a common share offering for gross proceeds of C$7.7 million (US$5.01 million). Investors in the round included GrowthWorks Capital, of Vancouver; RT Capital, of Toronto; StrategicNova Canadian Technology Fund; and the Western Technology Seed Investment Fund.

¿ Antisoma plc, of London, said a study published in the online edition of the International Journal of Cancer showed that humanized HMFG1 (Therex), a cancer-targeting antibody, effectively harnesses components of the body¿s immune system to destroy tumor cell lines isolated from patients with breast cancer in cell culture. HMFG1 targets polymorphic epithelial mucin, found on 90 percent of breast cancer cells.

¿ Axys Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, received a milestone payment from Aventis SA, of Frankfurt, Germany. The payment is the third such milestone for the company from the deal, which focuses on cathepsin S inhibitors for development as inflammation and autoimmune disease treatments.

¿ Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., received approval to list on the American Stock Exchange. Cortex expects its shares to begin trading during the week of May 7 under the symbol ¿COR.¿

¿ FeRx Inc., of San Diego, moved its Colorado research and operations facility to the new Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora, near Denver. The one-quarter-square-mile campus is the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.

¿ Ganaera Corp., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., presented results from studies in animal models that indicated its anti-angiogenic squalamine led to inhibition of the development of iris neovascularization, partial regression of new vessels and that potentially therapeutic levels of squalamine are maintained for lengthy periods of time in mammalian eye tissue following systemic delivery.

¿ Genetronics Biomedical Ltd., of San Diego, entered two cooperative research and development agreements with the Naval Medical Center, San Diego. The agreements, together with two separate agreements founded in January, will continue the company¿s efforts to assess the viability of using electroporation for in vivo gene delivery. Financial terms were undisclosed.

¿ Hybridon Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., closed the sale of 60 percent of its holdings in MethylGene Inc., of Montreal, of which Hybridon owns a 22 percent interest. Hybridon also entered agreements to sell the balance of its holdings in MethylGene to a group of three MethylGene shareholders. Hybridon will realize gross proceeds of $7.1 million when all its interest in MethylGene is sold.

¿ Immune Response Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., said data from tests of its T-cell receptor peptide vaccine for multiple sclerosis showed that it induced a specific response in 80 percent of patients treated. The data was reported in the May issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research.

¿ MetaPhore Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, said Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center studies show its free-radical fighting mimic compound improves heart function in animal models of heart attack. The compound removes free radicals from heart tissues.

¿ NexMed Inc., of Robbinsville, N.J., announced results of safety studies of Femprox cream for sexual arousal disorder. Results indicated that Femprox was safe and well tolerated at all dosages in 64 healthy women.

¿ Sicor Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said its wholly owned subsidiary, Gensia Sicor Pharmaceuticals Inc., received approval of an abbreviated new drug application from the FDA for Mesna Injection. The IFEX/NESNX Injection kit is marketed by Bristol Myers Squibb Co., of New York.

¿ Structural Bioinformatics Inc., of San Diego, said the number of protein families in its ProMax database doubled to more than 400 families comprising thousands of novel drug-target structures. The company offers the database on an annual subscription basis.

¿ Xoma Ltd., of Berkeley, Calif., said research shows that certain bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein-derived compounds inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina while sparing key retinal cells. The findings suggest the compounds could have utility in the treatment of ocular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.