* Access Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dallas, signed a letter of intent to license amlexanox 5% paste to Laboratories Dr. Esteve S.A. for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Esteve, of Barcelona, Spain, will make an upfront license payment and additional milestone payments, and will pay a royalty on sales. Amlexanox 5% paste is approved by the FDA for the treatment of canker sores. * Biomatrix Inc., received regulatory approval to market Synvisc, a treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee, in Brazil and Argentina. Novartis Pharma AG will introduce the drug in Brazil and Argentina. Novartis, of Basel, Switzerland, is Biomatrix's exclusive marketing and distribution partner for Synvisc in Latin America and the Caribbean,

* Cambridge NeuroScience Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., will have a hearing before the appeal panel of the Nasdaq stock market to discuss the company's continued listing on the exchange. Until the Nov. 12 hearing, the company's stock (NASDAQ:CNSI) will continue to trade on the market without restriction.

* Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc., of San Carlos, Calif., amended a collaborative agreement with Baxter International Inc., of Deerfield, Ill. The agreement allows for a new corporate partner to join the collaboration to further fund development and commercialization of an undisclosed compound. Baxter will continue to provide development funding for this compound in preparation for Phase II trials while a new partner is sought.

* La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, identified a protein region for a life-threatening blood-clotting disorder, antiphospholipd syndrome. The company presented data at the 8th International Symposium on Antiphospholipid Antibodies, in Sapporo, Japan, that showed that more than 85 percent of patients who suffer from antibody-mediated thrombosis have antibodies that bind to a specific protein region.

* NitroMed Inc., of Bedford, Mass., presented animal data showing that nitric oxide enhanced current therapies for treating male erectile dysfunction (MED). Nitric oxide significantly improves the therapeutic efficacy of both alpha receptor antagonists or phosphodiesterase inhibitors, both of which are used to treat MED. The data was presented at the Institut Pasteur EuroConference in Paris.