* Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, signed a licensing agreement for development of its antibody-toxin complex, AR209, with Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, of Mannheim, Germany, for treatment of cancer. The drug is a combination of an antibody that binds to the oncoprotein erbB-2, which is expressed on the surface of cancer cells, and a Pseudomonas exotoxin to kill the tumor cells.

* Arqule Inc., of Medford, Mass., and Signal Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, expanded their collaboration for discovery of small molecule compounds that modulate gene expression. Financial terms were not disclosed.

* Avid Corp., of Camden, N.J., said it licensed from DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co., of Wilmington, Del. a second generation HIV protease inhibitor. Financial terms were not disclosed. Avid said it expects to begin clinical trials with the AIDS drug within the next several months. DuPont Merck is a joint venture of E.I. DuPont Co., of Wilmington, and Merck & Co., of Whitehouse Station, N.J.

* Bio-Technology General Corp., of Iselin, N.J., submitted a new drug application with the FDA for a testosterone product, Androtest-SL, for treatment of hypogonadism. The testosterone replacement therapy is administered under the tongue rather than through injections or skin patches.

* Neose Technologies Inc., of Horsham, Pa., registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a follow-on offering of 1.25 million shares. The company (NASDAQ:NTEC) went public in February, raising $32 million in gross proceeds through the sale of about 2.59 million shares at $12.50.

* Paracelsian Inc., of Ithaca, N.Y., entered a cooperative research and development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institutes of Health, of Bethesda, Md. The CRADA extends work being done by Paracelsian and the NIH's National Cancer Institute on screening extracts from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs for compounds that modulate cell signaling pathways involved in HIV and cancer.

* TheraTech Inc., of Salt Lake City, entered a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, for development of peptides using TheraTech's oral transmucosal delivery system. Financial terms were not disclosed.