¿ Aastrom Biosciences Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., signed agreements with Gambro A/S, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Micromin AG, of Lyssach, Sweden, for the distribution of the AastromReplicell Cell Production System product line in Norway for one year and in Switzerland for three years. The AastromReplicell product line is designed to provide physicians with access to therapeutic quantities of cells necessary for the treatment of various blood-cell cancers and other diseases.

¿ Cangene, of Toronto, received approval to sell its hyperimmune product, WinRho SDF, in the UK to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn, which is a disease of immune incompatibility between a mother and a fetus. The approval will allow Cangene to request registration in other European Union countries.

¿ Celera Genomics, of Rockville, Md., completed 1 million sequences, the equivalent of more than 500 million base pairs, of Drosophila melanogaster, or the fruit fly. Celera began to sequence the genome of the fruit fly and to deliver the data to subscribers in May.

¿ Genomica Corp., of Boulder, Colo., licensed its software, Discovery Manager, to Biognosis U.S. Inc., of Bethesda, Md. Discovery Manager offers visualization and scientific analysis tools, project management and a database of genetic information.

¿ Immunex Corp., of Seattle, approved a 2-for-1 split of its common shares in the form of a stock dividend. As of June 30, the company had 81.7 million shares outstanding.

¿ LifeCell Corp., of The Woodlands, Texas, started its collaborative study with Pharmacia & Upjohn, of Bridgewater, N.J., and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to evaluate ThromboSol, LifeCell's formulation for the extended storage of platelets. The study's goal will be to ascertain if ThromboSol effectively meets the clinical needs of chemotherapy patients by preserving TPO-induced autologous platelets for re-infusion as needed. TPO is being developed by Pharmacia & Upjohn, which acquired worldwide marketing rights from Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco.

¿ Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, was notified by Nasdaq that it no longer met the minimum listing requirements. Shares of Neoprobe's stock (NEOP) will be traded now on the OTC Bulletin Board.

¿ Prudential Securities Inc., of New York, initiated coverage on approximately 58 new healthcare companies through its Prudential Vector Healthcare Group unit, following the merger of the companies. The Prudential Vector Healthcare Group consists of 16 analysts who conduct research on more than 100 healthcare companies and industry fundamentals. Among analysts covering the biotechnology industry are Peter Drake, John Sonnier, Robert Toth and Caroline Copithorne.

¿ Resolution Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, and Neurochem Inc., of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, signed an agreement to develop radioimaging diagnostic agents targeted at amyloid deposits in the body. The deposits are found in all individuals with Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Under the agreement, the companies will work together to identify and develop products, with subsequent development of lead molecules being carried out by both companies.