¿ Actelion Ltd., of Allschwil, Switzerland, and Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, said tezosentan, an intravenous dual endothelin receptor antagonist, demonstrated positive hemodynamic results in a 292-patient study with acute heart failure patients. Actelion said complete Phase III data will be available later this year. The study, called RITZ 2, is the first of two pivotal studies in the tezosentan Phase III program. RITZ 1 is an ongoing 670-patient study.

¿ AltaRex Corp., of Waltham, Mass., completed an offering of 4.4 million shares at C$1.90 per share for gross proceeds of C$8.3 million (US$5.46 million). The company, which develops antigen-targeted antibody cancer therapeutics, plans to use the funding to further clinical development of OvaRex MAb, its CA 125-targeted ovarian cancer therapeutic. HSBC Securities Inc., of Toronto, and Roth Capital Partners Inc., of Los Angeles, acted as agents for the offering.

¿ Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Megapharm Ltd., of Hod-Hasharon, Israel, entered an agreement granting Megapharm marketing and distribution rights for Aranesp in Israel. Financial terms were undisclosed.

¿ Dyax Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and Debiopharm SA, of Switzerland, initiated a Phase IIa trial with EPI-HNE-4, a human neutrophil elastase inhibitor, in adult cystic fibrosis patients. The multisite study in France will test the compound's safety and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties in 24 CF patients.

¿ Genset SA, of Paris, said it launched the operational phase of its Genset Pharma initiative announced last August designed to generate a pipeline of validated targets and drug candidates in the fields of metabolic and central nervous system disorders. Genset will reorient its genomics activities toward the discovery and development of pharmaceutical products. The consequent reorganization of Genset's Genomics Research Center could result in the elimination of 82 jobs, but, the company said, the increase in pharmaceutical activities could result in the creation of 28 new jobs. The transition may also result in the sale of the Genset Oligos division, which produces synthetic DNA, or oligonucleotides. The company said it is actively pursuing the sale of the oligonucleotide business. Further, the company said it intends to end its gene discovery research programs undertaken for pharmaceutical partners. All those programs are either completed or will be completed in the coming months, Genset said.

¿ MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, and Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, announced the signing of a letter of intent to enter a North American license and distribution agreement for Helsinn's palonosetron, a selective 5-HT3 antagonist. Palonosetron is in Phase III trials for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and MGI said the compound could be the subject of a new drug application in the first half of 2002.

¿ UroGenesys Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., reported monoclonal antibodies targeted against a protein found predominantly on human prostate tumors significantly blocked tumor growth, inhibited metastases and prolonged survival in mice. The study findings were published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. The antibody-based products are under development by Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, through a licensing agreement entered in July.