¿ Abgenix Inc., of Fremont, Calif., reported its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. It saw a net loss of $7.6 million for the quarter, or 9 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $3.4 million, or 5 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2000. It has $14.5 million in total revenues for the quarter, compared to $6.3 million for the same period in 2000. It spent $16.7 million in research and development for 2001¿s first quarter, up from $7.2 million in 2000. Abgenix ended the quarter with about $631.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

¿ Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, initiated a collaborative research program with Axiom Biotechnologies Inc., also of San Diego, to develop and share information related to the localization of known G protein-coupled receptors within Axiom¿s proprietary human cell lines. Axiom also will profile Arena¿s several thousand small-molecule compounds using its Human Cell Bank and RHACE (rapid, high-definition assay for cellular efficacy) technologies. Arena will have exclusive ownership of the localized GPCR information and the small-molecule data. Arena will purchase a $2 million equity stake in Axiom.

¿ Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, entered a research services agreement with US Oncology for the latter¿s execution of up to five clinical studies in colorectal and lung cancers with CTI¿s PG-TXL. The anticancer agent is a fusion of paclitaxel and a biodegradable polyglutamate polymer, and a Phase I single-agent trial is under way in the UK. Phase I/II single-agent and combination trials of PG-TXL are under way in the U.S. Financial details were undisclosed.

¿ Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., said Health Canada¿s Bureau of Biologics and Radiopharmaceuticals granted Chiron a license to market Menjugate, a conjugate vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C. Menjugate was licensed in the UK in March 2000.

¿ DepoMed Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., said interim data from a Phase II trial of Metformin GR, an extended-release, or gastric-retentive, formulation in Type II diabetes patients indicated that the product is statistically similar to its immediate-release counterpart, Glucophage. The company found comparable measures of glycemic control and that the product is as well tolerated as Glucophage.

¿ Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., said its board approved a two-for-one stock split for Genzyme General. At Genzyme¿s annual shareholders meeting on May 31, shareholders will be asked to approve an amendment to the corporation¿s charter increasing the total number of authorized shares of Genzyme common stock from 390 million to 690 million and increasing the number of such shares designated as Genzyme General stock from 200 million to 500 million shares.

¿ Idun Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it received exclusive rights to the second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase gene through a licensing deal with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The gene encodes a protein known to play a critical role in the initiation of apoptosis. Financial details were not disclosed.

¿ Incara Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said its class of catalytic antioxidants demonstrated use in cancer therapy in preclinical models. Data presented at the 48th annual meeting of the Radiation Research Society showed that a catalytic antioxidant from Incara enhanced the tumor-destroying effects of radiation yet protected healthy lung tissue against damage. Findings presented at the European Conference for Oral Oncology in The Hague, Netherlands, showed the catalytic antioxidant compound protected healthy oral mucosa from radiation- induced damage.

¿ Photogen Technologies Inc., of New Hope, Pa., commenced a Phase I trial of its proprietary drug, PH-10, as a topical treatment for psoriasis. The study will evaluate the safety of three different doses of PH-10 in separate patient treatment groups. Patients will receive a single dose of PH-10 followed by administration of green light on psoriatic plaques. Each patient will act as his or her own control.

¿ Rosetta Inpharmactics Inc., of Kirkland, Wash., said Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., licensed the Rosetta Resolver Gene Expression Data Analysis System. Biogen will use the system in its drug discovery processes. Financial details were not disclosed.

¿ The Institute for Genomic Research, of Rockville, Md., received funding of an undisclosed amount from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health, of Bethesda, Md., to implement a large-scale sequencing project of Cryptococcus neoformans, the etiologic agent of cryptococcosis, a fungal disease. The NIAID grant will allow researchers at TIGR to provide 4-5X sequence coverage of the C. neoformans genome to generate an additional 4X sequence coverage, assemble all of the C. neoformans sequence data generated at Stanford and TIGR, and complete gap closure on as much of the C. neoformans genome as possible.

¿ 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Exton, Pa., and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Ingelheim, Germany, extended their drug discovery collaboration, originally begun in December 1999, to March 31, 2003. 3DP is applying its DirectedDiversity combinatorial chemistry technology to discover new compounds active against asthma and allergic disease in the collaboration. 3DP will receive an additional up-front payment, research and development funding, and is eligible for milestone payments and royalties on each compound selected for development by Boehringer. Financial details were not disclosed.

¿ Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, executed an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland, for the development and commercialization in Japan of Zomaril, an antipsychotic agent in worldwide Phase III development. In exchange for rights to Zomaril in Japan, Titan receives license fees and milestone payments, in addition to royalties on product sales in Japan. The companies entered a collaboration for Zomaril worldwide, except for Japan, in 1997. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 21, 1997.)

¿ Vysis Inc., of Downers Grove, Ill., entered a cooperative research and development agreement with the National Cancer Institute to develop genomic targets for detecting and distinguishing premalignancies from invasive cancer. The agreement also will determine the propensity of premalignancy to progress to invasive cancer, and the research initially will focus on breast and cervical cancer.