¿ AtheroGenics Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., closed an $8 million tranche, completing its $24 million Series C convertible preferred stock financing. The investment was made by William Blair Capital Partners LLC, of Chicago. Earlier this year, AtheroGenics raised $15.9 million in a private sale of Series C convertible preferred stock to continue clinical development of its cholesterol-lowering and vascular protectant compound, AGI 1067. (See BioWorld Today, May 19, 1999, p. 1.)

¿ Exelixis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of Princeton, N.J., entered into a three-year research collaboration to identify novel, validated targets for new medicines using model system genetics. Bristol-Myers will provide Exelixis with research funding and milestone payments, while Exelixis will use its technology to determine the molecular targets of certain compounds.

¿ Genometrix Inc., of The Woodlands, Tex., has executed a combined equity financing, licensing and research agreement with Motorola Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill. Motorola has bought an undisclosed amount of Genometrix preferred securities and obtained a license to procure certain DNA chip intellectual property for the marketing of portable DNA-based analysis systems. The research agreement involves the application of proprietary Genometrix technologies to the Motorola biochip platform.

¿ Invitrogen Corp., of San Diego, is proposing a secondary stock offering of 5 million shares of common stock, of which 1.5 million will be offered by the company and about 3.5 million will be offered by selling stockholders. Company proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. Earlier this year the company raised $52.5 million through its initial public offering of 3.5 million shares at $15 each. (See BioWorld Today, March 1, 1999, p. 1.)

¿ MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., entered into an exclusive licensing agreement and a research collaboration with Columbia University to develop and market a catalytic antibody against cocaine to treat overdose and addiction. MedImmune will be responsible for worldwide research, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of any product resulting from the collaboration. It will pay a one-time license fee to Columbia and will make milestone and royalty payments based on development and sales.

¿ Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, formed a strategic collaboration with a private Canadian biotechnology company, Galileo Genomics. Under terms of the 18-month collaboration, Myriad with gain access to DNA samples from French-Canadian patients in Quebec and will acquire a 15 percent ownership in Galileo through a $750,000 equity investment. It will also receive exclusive worldwide diagnostic and therapeutic rights for all genes discovered during the collaboration, and Galileo will receive royalties on product sales.

¿ NeoTherapeutics Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and the University of California, Irvine, entered into a research and development collaboration. NeoTherapeutics awarded UC Irvine $900,000 for three years to continue research on neurotransmitters and their receptors. The company will have an option for an exclusive license to develop drugs that come from the research, and it will make additional investments totaling $1.1 million for further development of the technology.

¿ NeuroLogic Inc., of Rockville, Md., acquired an exclusive worldwide license for a new diagnostic test that indicates the absence or presence of Alzheimer's disease in patients. The test was developed by research scientists at the National Institutes of Health and was acquired by NeuroLogic last year.

¿ Novo Nordisk AS, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark, said Danish health authorities have approved its liquid growth hormone, Norditropin SimpleXx. A launch in a number of European countries will take place later this year or early in 2000. New drug applications for the product were filed in the U.S. and Japan earlier this year.

¿ Sequenom Inc., of San Diego, said it signed an agreement with Genzyme Genetics, of Framingham, Mass., for the development of mutation detection assays using Sequenom's MassArray technology and its SpectroCHIPs. The technology is designed to genotype DNA mutations, such as those associated with genetic disease.

¿ StressGen Biotechnologies Corp., of Victoria, British Columbia, said preclinical studies of a potential new stress protein-based allergy and asthma therapy have prompted the company to provide US$500,000 to fund a research program at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. The program will use stress proteins fused to antigens to help stop the immune system from overreacting to foreign proteins or allergens.

¿ Xenometrix Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said the company repaid its outstanding notes and accrued interest in full. It had issued $1.5 million in notes to certain affiliates of one of its stockholders between June 20, 1997, and Jan. 12, 1998. The company said it has enough cash to carry it through the end of the year.