LONDON – The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is embroiled in a fresh row about its lax stance on ensuring there are no conflicts of interest when senior staff resign and take up outside posts, after its top legal expert joined the life sciences practice of a U.S. law firm the week after leaving the agency.

Clinical testing of Affitech A/S's lead antibody, AT001/r84, began this week, just as the company enters its final weeks as a publicly quoted entity and prepares to become a private entity, wholly owned by Russian investors.

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., inked another two deals related to its microRNA technology. Its agreement with London-based AstraZeneca plc calls for a $28 million up-front cash and equity payment, plus milestones, for development of three microRNA targets.

• Nordic Bioscience A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Unigene Laboratories Inc., of Boonton, N.J., disclosed the preliminary selection of a lead compound for Type II diabetes under the firms' joint development vehicle (JDV).

Molecular Partners AG is banking $62.5 million up front and could receive up to $1.4 billion more in development, regulatory and commercial milestones in its second ophthalmology deal with Allergan Inc.

LONDON – Evidence is mounting that methods based on human cells and computer modeling can provide realistic alternatives to animal toxicology testing.

The drug development graveyard that is sepsis claimed another victim last week, as AZD9773 (CytoFab), which AstraZeneca plc was developing with BTG plc, failed to separate from placebo in a Phase IIb trial in 300 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.

LONDON – A meta-analysis of cancer patients treated in Phase I studies of targeted drugs has confirmed that there is a much lower risk of the most serious side effects than with traditional chemotherapy.

• Genkyotex SA, of Geneva, reported positive results from studies of GKT137831, for liver fibrosis, showing the ability to attenuate development of fibrosis in the liver and attenuate production of reaction oxygen species in two models of the disease.

DUBLIN, Ireland – Elan Corp. plc is hiving off its early stage neurology drug discovery activity into a new entity, Neotope Biosciences, which will begin life with $120 million to $130 million in cash and seek a listing on an as yet to be determined U.S. exchange.