¿ Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., launched a new human gene expression analysis product line, The Human Genome U95 Set. It analyzes the expression of more than 60,000 gene sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information UniGene Database.

¿ Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, raised $8.1 million in a private placement by selling 36,364 shares of common stock and a five-year warrant to purchase 12,121 shares at an exercise price of $3 per share. Paramount Capital Inc., of New York, served as financial adviser.

¿ ChiRex Inc., of Stamford, Conn., said it will repurchase up to 1 million shares of stock.

¿ Chrysalis Biotechnology Inc., of Galveston, Texas, and Abbott Laboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., signed a worldwide option, license and development agreement for Chrysalin, a novel peptide that is being studied for use in accelerating the healing of chronic wounds. Terms were not disclosed.

¿ Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc, of Andover, UK, signed an option agreement under which Shire will evaluate the use of Cortex's Ampakine CX516 for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Shire will undertake a double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of CX516 in patients. In exchange for the option, Cortex will receive $870,000 and will issue common stock to Shire. Shire also will pay $130,000 and purchase study drug from Cortex. If the study is effective, Shire has the right to convert its option into an exclusive worldwide license and will bear all future development costs.

¿ DepoMed Inc., of Foster City, Calif., reported the results of its Phase I trial comparing Metformin, its once-a-day formulation, to the multi-dose Glucophage, the leading oral anti-diabetes drug in the U.S. Two formulations of Metformin GR tablets were given, one with a drug delivery duration of six hours (GR6) and the other of nine hours (GR9). Based on plasma concentration-time profiles, bioavilability levels of GR6 and GR9 relative to Glucophage were 114 percent and 117 percent, respectively. In addition, both formulations successfully extended the time to achieve peak blood levels compared to Glucophage.

¿ Diversa Corp., of San Diego, received notice from the Yellowstone National Park that a federal court in Washington upheld the 1997 bioprospecting "benefit-sharing" agreement between Diversa and the park. The agreement provides that Diversa would contribute specified economic and scientific benefits resulting from research activities within the park in exchange for biodiversity access to environmental samples collected within Yellowstone.

¿ Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, said that Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, and Elan have granted Wyeth-Ayerst Research, of Radnor, Pa., the first non-exclusive license under the companies' jointly owned patent portfolio to beta-amyloid-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. The license allows Wyeth-Ayerst to use the patents to certain technology useful in the research and development of potential products to treat Alzheimer's disease. In exchange for the patent rights, both Lilly and Elan will retain certain product rights and will receive royalties on resulting product sales.

¿ Genesis Research and Development Corp. Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand, received a $3.5 million investment from AXA Funds Management, which acquired 614,035 shares at $5.70 each. Genesis has genomics programs in human health, forestry and agriculture.

¿ Geron Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., withdrew its proposed follow-on offering. The company filed to sell 3 million shares. At the time of the registration, the stock was trading at $58.50, which would have grossed the company about $175 million. Geron's stock (NASDAQ:GERN) closed Wednesday at $21.062, up 25 cents.

¿ Millennium & Ilex Partners LP, a joint venture of Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Ilex Oncology Inc., of San Antonio, Texas, said that its marketing authorization application for Campath, a humanized monoclonal antibody, was accepted for review by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. The FDA accepted the marketing application in February.

¿ Neurobiological Technologies Inc., of Richmond, Calif., raised $6.36 million in private financing to continue its clinical development of two neuroprotective drug candidates. Investors included Capital Research Co., of San Francisco, and Gotham Capital Management, of New York. AmeriCal Securities Inc., of San Francisco, acted as the placement agent.

¿ Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Richmond, Calif., withdrew its plan to sell up to 2.875 million shares of common stock, due to market conditions. Onyx proposed raising about $46 million by selling 2.5 million shares. At the time of the filing, its stock was at $18.375. The company's stock (NASDAQ:ONXX) closed Wednesday at $11, up 81.2 cents. (See BioWorld Today, March 29, 2000, p. 1.)

¿ SafeScience Inc., of Boston, said the first patient has been dosed at the University of Chicago Medical Center in its multicenter Phase II trial of GBC-590 in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. GBC-590, a carbohydrate lectin inhibitor, represents a new class of anticancer agents that specifically interferes with cellular interactions. The company also plans to conduct later this year Phase II trials of GBC-590 in patients with cancers of the colon, liver and prostate.

¿ Zycos Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., acquired an exclusive license from the Schepens Eye Research Institute, of Boston, for its alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone-based technology for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Under the agreement Zycos has exclusive, worldwide rights to Schepens' a-MSH technology to be used in conjunction with Zycos' proprietary drug delivery technology.