¿ GeneMachines, of San Carlos, Calif., closed a $10.7 million Series B preferred stock financing. The round was co-led by Oxford Bioscience Partners III LP and Frazier & Co., each of whom invested $5 million, with additional investing from private investors. Proceeds will be used to scale up the company's sales and marketing initiatives, manufacturing capabilities and product development. GeneMachines provides solutions for the automation and instrumentation needs of the genomics community.

¿ Genta Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said a study showed that outpatient administration of G3139 reduced levels of Bcl-2 protein and led to major objective responses in patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 21 patients, results showed that G3139 caused a major reduction of the target protein during the first week of treatment, the company said. The report was published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

¿ Micrologix Biotech Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, completed its $40 million special warrant financing. Proceeds will be used to fund later stage clinical development of MBI 226, the company's lead drug product for the prevention of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections. The company plans to initiate Phase III trials in the third quarter. (See BioWorld Today, March 10, 2000, p. 4.)

¿ Alza Corp., of Mountain View, Calif., said clinical results of Concerta (methylphenidate HC1) being tested in children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a significant improvement in attention and behavior in children taking the drug and conventional methylphenidate when compared with placebo (p<.001). Concerta is being developed by Alza on behalf of Crescendo Pharmaceuticals Corp. and is under review by the FDA for approval as a once-daily treatment for ADD/ADHD.

¿ Ambryx Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., said it changed its name to Senomyx Inc. to more accurately describe the company's mission to be the world leader in the technology and genomics of the senses.

¿ Biomira Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said the FDA granted fast-track status to Theratope vaccine for metastatic breast cancer.

¿ Celera Genomics, of Rockville, Md., said it signed an agreement with Vanderbilt University that provides a five-year, comprehensive subscription to certain Celera database products. Vanderbilt will become the first subscriber to Celera's database information through its Celera Discovery System on the web. Financial terms were not disclosed.

¿ Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, said its cancer drug treatment, Arsenic TriOxide (ATO), has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of multiple myeloma. In March, the company submitted a new drug application for ATO to treat patients with relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia.

¿ Cel-Sci Corp., of Vienna, Va., said patients with advanced head and neck cancer receiving Multikine showed promising tumor reductions, prior to surgery or radiation. The 28-patient Phase II dose-escalation trial tested four dose levels, revealing that about half of the patients treated with the product showed tumor reductions. Multikine was well tolerated and the treatment showed minimal toxicity.

¿ DoubleTwist Inc., of Oakland, Calif., and Sun Microsystems Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said DoubleTwist completed an extensive analysis of the available Human Genome Project data, revealing genes and other information. The company developed the DoubleTwist Human Genome Database, a computationally and scientifically intense methodology designed to provide the best view of the human genome, including the location of the genes and their function, the company said. DoubleTwist will license the database and associated data mining software directly to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for their drug discovery efforts.

¿ Celtrix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Jose, Calif., and Insmed Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Richmond, Va., said their joint proxy statement has been mailed to stockholders of both companies. The statement provides information for stockholders to vote on the acquisition of Celtrix by Insmed. Both companies have scheduled stockholder meetings on May 30. Insmed entered into an agreement to acquire Celtrix in a deal worth $178 million last December. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 2, 1999, p. 1.)

¿ Epitope Inc., of Beaverton, Ore., said it signed a definitive merger agreement with STC Technologies Inc., of Bethlehem, Pa., to become a leader in the oral fluid and point-of-care medical diagnostics industry. STC shareholders will receive about 20 million shares of Epitope common stock in the merger, according to the current stock price. The all-stock deal is worth about $200 million. The combined company will be renamed OraSure Technologies Inc. and will be headquartered in Bethlehem.

¿ Epoch Biosciences, of Redmond, Wash., said its common stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq National Market on Wednesday under the symbol EBIO.

¿ GeneMax Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said scientists from the University of British Columbia reported successful results in the elimination of small-cell lung cancer tumors in laboratory mice following vaccination with the TAP1 gene. The results were reported in the May issue of Nature Biotechnology.

¿ Genta Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said its lead antisense drug, G3139, showed that outpatient administration of the drug in patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma reduced levels of Bcl-2 protein and led to major objective responses. In the study of 21 patients, results showed that G3139 caused a major reduction of the target protein during the first week of treatment. The report was published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

¿ HepaVec AG, of Berlin, said it closed a DM8 million (US$3.7 million) private financing, which was led by Techno Venture Management. The financing included current investors Dansk Kapitalanlaeg and Alpinvest International NV, and new investors Industrie Management Holding GmbH and KB Lux Venture Capital Fund. The funds will enable the company to continue development of its products to treat liver diseases.

¿ Nutraceutix Inc., of Redmond, Wash., said it developed Cobactin E, a strain of the bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus that has been shown to inhibit the highly pathogenic Escherichia coli strain 0157:H7 in vitro.

¿ Pheromone Sciences Corp., of Toronto, appointed Christopher Neuman president and CEO and director of the company. The company's previous president and CEO, William Cochrane, will continue as chairman. Neuman most recently served as general manager of Alza Canada, and as president and general manager of Baker Cummins Inc.

¿ Praecis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the underwriters of its recent initial public offering (IPO) have exercised in full their overallotment option, purchasing an additional 1.2 million shares at $10 per share, raising $12 million. The company raised $80 million in its IPO in April. (See BioWorld Today, April 28, 2000, p. 1.)

¿ Sonus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said it received a favorable settlement for its patent infringement litigation against Molecular Biosystems Inc. (MBI), of San Diego, and Mallinckrodt Inc., of St. Louis. The lawsuit, initiated in January 1998, alleged that MBI's Optison ultrasound contrast agent infringed on one or more of Sonus' patents. With the settlement, Sonus will receive a one-time payment of $2.5 million from Nycomed Imaging AS, of London, pursuant to the patent license agreement between the two companies. Sonus also will receive royalties on future sales of ultrasound contrast products by MBI, Mallinckrodt and Nycomed in all territories except 10 Pacific Rim countries.

¿ Zycos Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it acquired from the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR) an exclusive license to proprietary patents for the development of polymer-based drug delivery systems. Zycos gains worldwide rights to develop and commercialize products for all human and animal indications, except for defense vaccine products that the UK government may commission. CAMR will receive royalty payments on certain partnering income and product revenues.