¿ Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., and GeneData AG, of Basel, Switzerland, entered a nonexclusive co-marketing agreement for the GeneData Expressionist software. Affymetrix will promote and recommend Expressionist software for use with Affymetrix products and software solutions. The GeneData Expressionist software enables management and analysis of gene expression data from GeneChip products, spotted arrays and other expression technologies. Financial terms were not released.

¿ Bayer Corp., of Pittsburgh, said results from its trial of vardenafil, an investigational phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, showed it improved erections in up to 80 percent of men and increased their ability to complete sexual intercourse with ejaculation. Results of three separate subanalyses were presented at the XVI annual European Association of Urology meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The analyses involved 580 patients, 21 to 70 years old, in stable heterosexual relationships, from 39 treatment centers in the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and South Africa.

¿ Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., adopted Cambridge, Mass.-based Spotfire Inc.'s Spotfire DecisionSite for Biogen's drug discovery and development process. Separately, Celera Genomics Inc., of Rockville, Md., agreed to integrate Spotfire DecisionSite with the Celera Discovery System, an aggregation of Celera's genomic data including the human, mouse and fly genomes, and a variety of other biological and medical databases. Spotfire DecisionSite gives users a resource to visually analyze and access product, process and customer information from a variety of sources.

¿ Introgen Therapeutics Inc., of Austin, Texas, said it discovered that the mda-7 gene is a novel member of the interleukin-10 family of cytokines. Data supporting this were presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Interleukin-10 and Related Molecules in Berlin. A separate complementary study conducted in collaboration with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center also was presented. Both studies were published in the current issue of Genes and Immunity.

¿ National Institutes of Health, of Bethesda, Md., said scientists completed sequencing the genome of Streptococcus pyogenes. The organism, also called group A streptococci, can lead to a number of diseases and conditions, including strep throat. The project was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and was carried out by researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The findings appear in the April 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The single, circular chromosome of the bacterium is more than 1.8 million DNA base pairs long, according to the study.

¿ NeoPharm Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill., extended its agreement with Georgetown University. The collaboration covers both contract and sponsored research projects, increases funding and extends the term through 2003. Also, the agreement expands research activities in liposomes, cytotoxics, antisense oligonucleotides and microarray technology. Financial terms were not released.

¿ Origenix Technologies Inc., of Laval, Quebec, presented data from an evaluation of its small-molecule libraries against hepatitis B virus replicated in chronic HBV-producing human hepatoblastoma cell line 2.2.15, at the 14th International Conference on Antiviral Research in Seattle. The study identified compounds that demonstrate potent dose-dependent anti-HBV activity without significant cytotoxicity at high doses. Origenix has ongoing antiviral research programs in human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and C, influenza and HIV.

¿ Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., will evaluate its tumor necrosis therapy drug, Cotara, in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma in a Phase I trial at Stanford University. Cotara is a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that binds to the necrotic core of tumors and uses beta-radiation to kill tumors from the inside out. In separate news, the company appointed Edward Legere president and CEO.

¿ Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said at the 14th International Conference on Antiviral Research in Seattle that its experimental drug, PRO 140, reduced viral burdens to undetectable levels in mice. High HIV concentrations became undetectable in the mice for up to nine days after a single dose of PRO 140. PRO 140 is a monoclonal antibody designed to block HIV from entering and infecting cells.