¿ Calypte Biomedical Inc., of Alameda, Calif., said the Chinese National Center for AIDS Prevention and Control selected the company¿s non-invasive urine HIV test for wide-scale use within the Chinese healthcare system.

¿ NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said data comparing AmBisome (liposomal amphotericin B) to free drug was published in the March 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Results, many of which had been disclosed previously, showed NeXstar¿s anti-fungal drug was equivalent in terms of survival but caused fewer adverse events.

¿ PE Biosystems, a Foster City, Calif., division of Perkin-Elmer Corp., announced the availability of its automated system for standardized sequence-based genotyping of resistance mutations in HIV. The HIV Genotyping System is expected to be useful in monitoring drug-resistant HIV strains and in assessing effectiveness of HIV drugs.

¿ PharmaPrint Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said a Phase II trial of PPRT-321, a drug derived from saw palmetto, demonstrated it was safe and appeared to improve symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate gland. The company said the results are expected to accelerate partnering with a company interested in conducting further trials.

¿ Procept Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said PRO 2000 Gel showed evidence of protection against vaginal HIV transmission in a monkey model. The company said it hopes the results will help support the start of Phase II and III trials.