LONDON – A molecule that is needed for the proliferation and survival of malignant melanoma cells could hold clues to new therapies to treat that aggressive skin cancer.

LONDON – PsiOxus Therapeutics Ltd. has raised £22 million (US$34 million) in its Series B round to finance the first clinical trial of its systemically acting oncolytic virus ColoAd1, in a 132-patient colorectal cancer study that will get under way in September.

LONDON – Genkyotex SA has raised CHF25 million (US$26 million) as an extension to its Series C, with the existing investors all following on to fund Phase II development of the lead compound, GKT137831 in diabetic nephropathy.

Opting for cash now rather than product sales later, Wilex AG decided to take a payment of $17.5 million as part of the deal it entered last year on the U.S. rights to its Phase III cancer antibody Rencarex (girentuximab) with Prometheus Laboratories Inc. It also stands to get another $2.5 million as part of a revised milestone payment that is contingent on a regulatory filing for the drug.

• MDxHealth SA, of Liege, Belgium, said it expanded its collaboration with Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, to cover the development and worldwide commercialization of MDxHealth's MGMT (methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferse) diagnostic test to identify glioblastoma patients who might be more likely to benefit from cilengitide, Merck's Phase III-stage integrin inhibitor.

CureBeta, the diabetes research alliance between Evotec AG and Doug Melton's lab in Harvard University's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, has found an early taker for its preclinical portfolio of small molecules and biologics that can trigger growth of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells.

LONDON – Decreasing levels of a protein in the brain are linked to a reduced ability to form long-term memories in aging animals, a study in mice suggested.

LONDON – Oxford Biomedica plc said that Sanofi SA is taking up its options on two gene therapy products for treating retinal disease, triggering a $3 million milestone and providing the impetus for a placing and open offer to raise up to £16 million (US$25 million).

Albireo AB licensed its constipation drug elobixibat to Ferring Pharmaceuticals SA for an undisclosed up-front fee, plus milestones and tiered double-digit royalties. Terms were not disclosed, but Ferring, of Saint-Prex, Switzerland, said it was one of its biggest product investment deals.

LONDON – The first biologic drug targeting a cell-surface sugar has entered the clinic, with the Phase I trial of Protaffin AG's interleukin-8 (IL-8) decoy PA401 getting under way in the UK.