* Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said a district court in Berlin issued an injunction calling for Schering AG, of Berlin, to stop making misleading statements relating to the dose of Biogen's Avonex (interferon beta-1a) for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Biogen said Schering has voluntarily consented to the cease-and-desist declaration. In its ruling, the court noted the European Commission's approval of Biogen's dosage, and said that approval "makes it likely to a large degree that the specified dosage is sufficient and not an under-dosage." A therapy that competes with Avonex, Betaseron (interferon beta-1b), is made by Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., and sold by Berlex Laboratories Inc., of Wayne, N.J., the U.S. subsidiary of Schering.

* Gliatech Inc., of San Francisco, disclosed favorable results regarding the safety and efficacy of its pilot human clinical trial of ADCON-P adhesion control barrier solution. The product is a resorbable carbohydrate polymer solution designed to inhibit scarring and adhesions following peritoneal cavity surgery. Thirty-seven patients were studied. Patients who received ADCON-P showed a 57 percent reduction in uterine adhesions compared to control patients, and safety profiles were comparable. Earlier this year, Gliatech received an approvable letter from the FDA for ADCON-L, an anti-scarring gel. (See BioWorld Today, April 10, 1998, p. 1.)

* Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, disclosed data from two lead neuroscience programs. Data showed promising clinical and commercial potential for inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, an enzyme found in cell nuclei, with its prototype compound, GPI-6150, for use in stroke. Also, Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., disclosed new efficacy and pharmacokinetic data on the two companies' lead fKBP-neuroimmunophilin ligand, NIL-A, for regeneration of neurological pathways.

* Message Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Malvern, Pa., completed a first round of financing that raised $6.3 million. The company's technology is focused on discovering drugs that regulate messenger RNA, for the finding of small molecules that mimic effects of more costly protein drugs. Participating investors are GeneChem Technologies Venture Fund LP, of Montreal; Euclid Partners IV, of New York; S.R. One Ltd., of Wayne, Pa.; Anthem Capital LP, of Baltimore; and Oxford Bioscience Partners, of Westport, Conn.

* Sangamo Biosciences Inc., of Point Richmond, Calif., signed a collaborative research agreement with Pfizer Inc., of New York. Under the terms of the deal, Pfizer will provide funding to Sangamo in exchange for the use of Sangamo's Universal GeneTools, in identifying and validating novel gene targets for drug discovery. Financial terms were not disclosed.