¿BioTransplant Inc., of Charlestown, Mass., said a Phase I/II study demonstrated that the monoclonal antibody BTI-322, in conjunction with a common immunosuppressive therapy like Prograf (tacrolimus) reduces the incidence of rejection in human liver transplants in the immediate post-operative period by 70 percent as compared to Prograf alone. The data was presented at the International Congress of the Transplantation Society in Rome.

¿Delsys Pharmaceutical Corp., of Monmouth Junction, N.J., and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, have created a joint venture for manufacturing solid oral dose products. Delsys is providing a license to its Accudep electrostatic deposition technology, along with commercial-scale manufacturing systems. In return, Elan will license intellectual property and manufacturing know-how. As part of the deal, Elan is investing $4 million in Delsys, which is privately held.

¿Deltagen Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., said underwriters for the company's initial public offering (see BioWorld Today, April 17, 2000 p. 1.) exercised their overallotment option to purchase an additional 1.025 million shares at the offering price of $15 per share. The purchase brings the gross proceeds of the offering to $120.375 million.

¿Discovery Partners International Inc., of San Diego, said underwriters of the company's initial public offering (see BioWorld Today, Aug. 1, 2000, p. 1.) exercised their overallotment option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares of the company's stock at the offering price of $18 per share, bringing gross proceeds for the company from the IPO to $103 million. Chase H&Q and Lehman Brothers acted as co-leads for the offering, and UBS Warburg was co-manager.

¿Elan Corp., of Dublin, Ireland, said the FDA has approved a tablet form of American Home Products Corp.'s Rapamune for the prevention of organ rejection in kidney transplants. The anti-rejection compound is the first application of Elan's NanoCrystal technology to receive FDA approval. Elan will receive royalties from AHP sales of Rapamune.

¿Entelos Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to offer AstraZeneca Inc. access to Entelos' computer-based obesity PhysioLab, a disease simulation system for obesity drug discovery, development and commercialization. Financial terms were not disclosed.

¿Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said in vitro data from studies of Targretin (bexarotene), an RXR-selective retinoid demonstrated to induce apoptosis, indicate not only that the compound enhances the efficacy of Ontak (denileukin diftitox; a treatment for cutaneous T-cell lympohma), but also that Targretin was active and generally well tolerated in a cohort of Australian patients with CTCL.

¿Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., was granted a $100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the development of a small-molecule aminosterol therapeutic for asthma and respiratory allergies. Magainin will use the funding to further develop lead compounds and identify a clinical candidate.

¿Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, said a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of Nature Medicine links narcolepsy with a deficiency of hypocretin, a brain peptide that stimulates wakefulness. The company is pursuing a small-molecule hypocretin receptor agonist as a potential treatment for the disease.

¿Neurotech SA, of Paris, entered a collaboration and license agreement with NsGene A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, for development of Neurotech's Encapsulated Cell Technology for treatment of neurological and eye disorders. NsGene will develop ECT products for neurodegenerative disease treatment, and Neurotech will focus on cancer and eye disorder treatments. NsGene paid Neurotech an up-front fee, and both parties will receive royalties on net revenues for products developed.

¿The National Institutes of Health reported researchers discovered pore-like holes in the membranes of red blood cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum. The deadly malaria parasite apparently uses the holes to supply itself with nutrients for growth and reproduction. The findings were announced in the Aug. 31 edition of Nature.

¿Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., of Seattle, entered an exclusive worldwide agreement with Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., to clarify Northwest's rights to make, have made, use and sublicense prostrate-specific membrane antigen. Financial terms were not disclosed.

¿Pharmaceutical Partners Group Inc., of Princeton, N.J., moved its corporate headquarters to Princeton from Florham Park, N.J. The 9,600-square-foot facility triples the company's operating space.

¿Viragen Inc., of Plantation, Fla., filed suit in Broward County Circuit Court against Pershing Corp., a division of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., alleging dissemination of false information regarding Viragen. The company is suing for damages for alleged negligence, defamation and securities laws violations by Pershing. More specific allegations of wrongdoing were not disclosed.