¿ Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., entered an academic internal use license agreement with the Medical Research Council, a British publicly funded research and grant-making organization. Affymetrix granted the MRC rights to certain patents covering the use and manufacture of nucleic acid arrays for gene expression monitoring.

¿ Akkadix Corp., of San Diego, joined the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in a research project aimed at improving the quality and digestibility of forage crops. The initial target for the project is alfalfa. Akkadix will provide the project with research support and its bioinformatics platform for the identification of genes in return for access to developments arising from the program.

¿ Alkermes Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said that a development partner, Geneva, Switzerland-based Serono, completed enrollment and dosing in a Phase I trial of an injectable, sustained-release formulation of an undisclosed therapeutic protein based on Alkermes' ProLease drug delivery technology. The trial is expected to be completed in the first half of 2001, with further development plans to be determined after review of the trial data.

¿ Allos Therapeutics Inc., of Denver, said 87 percent of advanced, inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy in conjunction with radiation and RSR13, an Allos anticancer compound, showed a complete or partial response. The open-label, multicenter, Phase II trial's full data will be presented at a scientific meeting, Allos said.

¿ Arakis Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, and Vectura Ltd. entered a collaboration to develop an inhaled formulation for Arakis' AD 237, a treatment for chronic pulmonary disease. The co-development agreement calls for sharing development costs and revenues.

¿ ArQule Inc., of Woburn, Mass., said UBS Warburg LLC, of New York, exercised the overallotment option granted to several underwriters in connection with ArQule's public offering. The underwriters purchased an additional 438,000 shares of common stock at $22.50 per share. This raised about $9.2 million, bringing total net proceeds for the follow-on offering to $70.8 million. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 22, 2000.)

¿ Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, and SmithKline Beecham plc, of London, launched the non-prescription cold-sore medication Abreva, approved as an OTC product in July. SKB will market the product under the terms of a March 2000 agreement.

¿ BioStratum Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., entered a development and license agreement with Shire Laboratories Inc. to develop an extended-release formulation of BioStratum's Pyridorin for kidney disease. BioStratum plans to use the formulation in upcoming Phase III trials.

¿ Biota Holdings Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, and Glaxo Wellcome plc, of London, said they will not proceed with their application to market Relenza as a prevention for influenza in the United States this winter. Ongoing discussions between Glaxo and the FDA indicate more data is required before regulatory approval is granted. In separate news, the companies said that the UK's health authorities have approved reimbursement for Relenza under the National Health Scheme. That decision reverses one made a year ago.

¿ Centaur Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., and partner AstraZeneca plc, of London, received Japanese regulatory approval to begin a Phase I study of NXY-059 for stroke. The study will evaluate safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics.

¿ CV Therapeutics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., and partner Fujusawa Healthcare Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., initiated a Phase I trial of CVT-3146, a selective A2A adenosine receptor agonist. The companies are developing CVT0-3146 as an adjunctive pharmacological agent in cardiac perfusion imaging studies.

¿ deCode genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, announced the formation of two wholly owned subsidiaries. Encode will focus on pharmacogenomic studies, and deCode Cancer will conduct research on cancers of the skin, lungs, kidneys, prostate, testicles and thyroid gland.

¿ Dendreon Corp., of Seattle, said data published in the December issue of Nature Biotechnology highlight a method for modifying targets on cancer cells called antigens to facilitate activation of cytotoxic T cells. Dendreon researchers found that cytotoxic T-cell response is enhanced by engineering an antigen in a way that optimizes its uptake and processing by dendritic cells.

¿ DoubleTwist Inc., of Oakland, Calif., entered an agreement with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., granting Merck rights to its Prophecy annotated human genome database and associated software for data interpretation. Merck plans to use the database for its drug discovery research. Financial terms were undisclosed.

¿ DrugAbuse Sciences Inc., of Los Altos, Calif., received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Buprel, the company's heroin-dependence therapeutic. The funding will sponsor the initial clinical trial of Buprel.

¿ Genzyme Transgenics Corp., of Framingham, Mass., and ImmunoGen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed an agreement for GTC to produce ImmunoGen's humanized monoclonal antibody, huN901, in goat milk. HuN901 is the antibody component of ImmunoGen's tumor-activated prodrug, huN901-DMI/BB-10901, being developed for treatment of small-cell lung cancer.

¿ IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., said it has made an unspecified equity investment in San Diego-based Structural Bioinformatics, marking its first such investment in a life sciences company. IBM formed the IBM Life Sciences business unit in August to form partnerships and develop IT solutions for biotechnology, genomics, pharmaceutical, e-health and other life sciences industries. The companies will collaborate to make the content of Structural Bioinformatics' databases of protein structural information more readily available to researchers on a subscription basis via the Internet, using IBM hardware and software.

¿ IGT Pharma Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, finalized the formation of Prescient NeuroPharma Inc. The company is formed from a merger of a newly created IGT subsidiary and NTB Neurotrophic Bioscience Inc., of Toronto. The newly formed company will focus on discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

¿ Labopharm Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said it was issued a receipt by the securities commissions in Ontario and Quebec for a final prospectus related to the distribution of 3.9 million common shares issuable following the exercise of 3.9 million special warrants. The warrants were issued on Aug. 31 by way of a private placement for aggregate consideration of approximately C$12 million (US$7.9 million).

¿ Matrix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Fremont, Calif., said data indicate that its IntraDose Injectable Gel for treatment of unresectable liver tumors destroys or reduces tumors not treatable with surgery. The multicenter Phase II trial results showed 55 percent of treated patients showed at least a 50 percent reduction in tumor size.

¿ Maxim Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Cancer Institute to fund development of MX2060, a potential anticancer agent. The compound induces cancerous cell death by inducing caspases, the enzymes that modulate and carry out the cellular signaling pathways involved in apoptosis.

¿ Mermaid Pharmaceuticals GmbH, of Hamburg, Germany, and Gene Tools LLC, of Corvallis, Oregon, initiated a research alliance to examine the biological function of the majority of vertebrate genes. The collaboration will combine Gene Tools' Morpholino antisense technology with Mermaid's high-throughput in organismo screening technologies in zebrafish, and represents the largest and fastest gene function screen ever to be initiated in a vertebrate model organism, Mermaid said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

¿ Micrologix Biotech Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, initiated a Phase Ib trial for MBI 853NL, a novel anti-infective. The trial is designed to assess the compound's activity against Staphylococcus aureus, and is expected to reach completion in the second quarter of 2001.

¿ MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, and ProChon Biotech Ltd., of Munich, Germany, said MorphoSys achieved a milestone in their agreement with the delivery of a series of HuCAL antibodies that block the function of a ProChon growth factor receptor associated with skeletal disorders, including Achondroplasia, or human dwarfism. ProChon said the antibodies should move into clinical testing, assuming positive results from the preclinical phase, within the next 24 months.

¿ National Institutes of Health researchers demonstrated for the first time that stem cells from bone marrow can migrate to the brain to form cells that appear to be neurons in mice. The findings are the first evidence of stem cell development into neurons in living organisms.

¿ Neurogen Corp., of Branford, Conn., and partner Pfizer Inc., of New York, initiated a Phase II efficacy study of Neurogen's lead candidate for anxiety disorder, NGD 91-3. The study follows Phase I trials that indicate the compound is safe and well tolerated at a variety of doses.

¿ NexMed Inc., of Robbinsville, N.J., presented pivotal Phase III trial results for its alprostadil cream for treatment of erectile dysfunction that indicated that the compound was statistically significantly effective over placebo (p<.01). The 160-man, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel, multicenter study was conducted as a part of the final regulatory approval process in China, where the compound will be marketed as Befar.

¿ Oxigene Inc., of Watertown, Mass., and partner Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA for the systemic use of Combretastatin A4 Prodrug. Bristol-Myers intends to initiate a clinical program with the compound, which Oxigene has evaluated in three Phase I trials.

¿ Pharmagene plc, of Royston, UK, said it has renewed its relationship with Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Ltd. (KHK), of Tokyo, for another year, the second renewal of a relationship that began in 1997. Under the agreement, Pharmagene provides KHK full access to its PhaseZERO preclinical testing service for testing of compounds in a human context. Pharmagene said it expanded its customer base in Japan to four companies during 2000.

¿ Phytopharm plc, of London, raised US$15.35 million through the private placement of 1.76 million shares at 625 pence each. Phytopharm develops drugs from plant extracts. Its lead compound, P58, proved safe in Phase I trials.

¿ Protein Design Labs Inc., of Fremont, Calif., and Burlingame, Calif.-based InterMune Pharmaceuticals have reached an agreement under which PDL will humanize an InterMune monoclonal antibody targeted to the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which often affects patients using respirators and catheters, as well as those with various medical conditions. The monoclonal antibody, PcrV, is a membrane protein on P. aeruginosa that facilitates the virulence of these bacteria. PDL will receive an up-front fee and be entitled to future milestone payments. Specific financial terms were not reported.

¿ Vasogen Inc., of Toronto, said its randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of VasoCare in patients with peripheral vascular disease yielded positive results and achieved its primary endpoint. The study showed that significantly more patients treated with VasoCare therapy showed a greater than 50 percent increase in their walking distances compared to placebo, and that VasoCare is long lasting, tolerable and free of adverse side effects.