¿ 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Exton, Pa., reported its G protein-coupled receptor crystallization project did not succeed in producing crystals and X-ray data required to determine the structure of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor, a drug target for G protein-coupled receptor. 3-DP said a scientist might have intentionally submitted false data. The company's stock (NASDAQ:DDDP) dropped $5.50 Monday, or 21 percent, to close at $20.625.

¿ Abgenix Inc., of Fremont, Calif., completed its acquisition of ImmGenics Inc., of Vancouver, for about $77 million in Abgenix stock. The transaction closed after approval by both companies' boards, shareholders and government regulators. ImmGenics' technology focuses on screening antibodies directly from B cells rather than from hybridoma cell lines, providing a larger pool of candidates than traditional technology.

¿ AGY Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said two studies in neuronal ischemic preconditioning using its imAGYne functional genomics platform identified and characterized genes involved in protecting neurons from effects of ischemic stroke. It presented the data at the Society for Neuroscience's 30th Annual Meeting in New Orleans. More than 2,000 genes of unknown function were identified as induced at different time points during ischemic preconditioning, a process during which brief episodes of ischemia induce a protective action against the lethal effects of subsequent periods of prolonged ischemia.

¿ Carrington Laboratories Inc., of Irving, Texas, formed a distribution licensing agreement with Medline Industries Inc. granting Medline exclusive rights to sell and market Carrington's wound and skin care products. Carrington estimated the deal to be worth $50 million to $60 million over its five-year term, including a $12.5 million consideration for royalties paid in quarterly installments over five years.

¿ Celltech Group plc, of Slough, UK, said it completed a merger with Cistron Biotechnology Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., following approval by Cistron shareholders at a special meeting Thursday. Cistron shareholders will receive .0202 of a Celltech American Depository Share for each share of Cistron owned.

¿ Connetics Corp., of Palo Alto, Calif., said it launched its super-high-potency corticosteroid OLUX Foam, a novel formulation for the short-term treatment of inflammatory and pruritic manifestations of moderate to severe corticosteroid-responsive scalp dermatoses. The company said the FDA granted it three years of market exclusivity and patent protection for the product. OLUX was approved in May, and Connetics began shipping the product Monday.

¿ CytRx Corp., of Atlanta, entered a license agreement with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., for CytRx's TranzFect technology in DNA-based vaccines targeted against infectious diseases. CytRx will receive an up-front payment and could receive milestones and royalty payments.

¿ Dyax Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., entered a strategic alliance with the Bracco Group, of Milan, Italy, granting Bracco exclusive worldwide rights to Dyax technology for diagnostic imaging and related therapeutic applications of Dyax's proprietary phage display technology for the development of diagnostic imaging products. The alliance includes rights to develop and commercialize existing Dyax inflammation, cardiovascular and oncology imaging product leads and all patents, libraries and know-how related to the phage display technology. Dyax will receive a $3 million up-front licensing fee and $3 million per year for research funding over the next three to six years, in addition to development milestones and royalties on product sales.

¿ Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., and Biomatrix Inc., of Ridgefield, N.J., said the Securities and Exchange Commission declared the registration statement for their merger effective. Both companies' boards approved the merger unanimously.

¿ Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, said it will present preclinical data to the Society for Neuroscience's 30th Annual Meeting in New Orleans that suggest its NAALADase inhibitors may be effective at protecting neurons against cell death during a variety of degenerative disorders. The company said the data show promise for treatment of a number of degenerative disorders.

¿ InKine Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., of Blue Bell, Pa., said its stock (NASDAQ:INKP) began trading on the Nasdaq National Market. The shares formerly traded on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market. The trading symbol did not change.

¿ Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Durham, N.C., said its Phase II trial of the P2Y₂ receptor agonist INS365 Ophthalmic for treatment of dry eye disease produced positive results. The 12-site, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial compared several concentrations of the topical eye drop to placebo in 158 patients. Full results of the study will be presented at the upcoming Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting. Inspire's stock (NASDAQ:ISPH) rose $2.75, or 11 percent, Monday to close at $27.50.

¿ Lorus Therapeutics Inc., of Toronto, said it will present positive results from a Phase II trial of Virulizin, its lead anticancer therapeutic, at the 23rd Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium in New York on Wednesday. It said the results of the trial in advanced pancreatic cancer spurred the decision to conduct a pivotal, randomized Phase III study, and added that it will outline the design of that study Wednesday as well.

¿ Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., agreed to produce fully human antibodies for Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, for a number of targets in return for fees per antibody. Medarex also will receive license fees in addition to milestone payments and royalties on products from the agreement. The agreement represents Medarex's 26th human antibody partnership.

¿ NeoTherapeutics Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said it would fast-forward development of its lead compound, Neotrofin, by refocusing its clinical development to a one-year study in moderate Alzheimer's disease patients at a daily dosing range of 500-1,000 mg. It is accelerating its clinical development strategy based on results of three recently completed clinical trials and evidence from a Positron Emission Tomography imaging study of Neotrofin.

¿ Procyon BioPharma, of Montreal, said it plans to acquire technology and patents related to Colopath, a non-invasive colon cancer screening test technology, from The University of Toronto Innovations Foundation. Procyon has licensed that technology since 1994. Procyon expects to finalize the acquisition, for cash and Procyon shares, within 30 days.

¿ Structural Bioinformatics Inc., of San Diego, received a $100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop non-peptide small molecules for cancer treatment. The grant will enable the company to apply its protein modeling and dynamic pharmacophore-based searches of existing and virtual combinatorial libraries to rapidly identify and synthesize small-molecule inhibitors.

¿ United Therapeutics Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said the FDA accepted its new drug application for UT-15, its analogue of prostacyclin developed as a subcutaneous treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. UTI submitted its NDA on Oct. 16.