TMCnet News

BioWorld International June 3, 2009
[June 02, 2009]

BioWorld International June 3, 2009


(BioWorld International Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) , of Munich, Germany, will present new preclinical data on 4SC-101, a small molecule for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), at the Digestive Disease Week conference in Chicago starting Saturday. An established preclinical model for IBD demonstrated that 4SC-101 significantly improved various disease parameters and inhibited the colonic expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17 and Interferon-gamma.



• Amarin Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, signed a term sheet for a private placement of $2.6 million in convertible bridge loan notes with existing investors. The financing provides the company with funds to operate through the middle of this year, while it continues discussions with potential investors. The notes mature on June 30 and pay an annual interest rate of 8 percent.

• Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, said the European Medicines Agency granted orphan drug designation to its gene therapy product AMT-021 for the treatment of acute intermittent porphyria, a rare genetic disease in which mutations in the PBGD gene result in insufficient activity of a protein necessary for the synthesis of heme.


• Beactica AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it entered a deal with Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., to use Beactica's Sprint surface Plasmon resonance-integrated drug discovery platform to target multicomponent proteins from pathogenic bacteria of interest to Cubist. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Biota Holdings Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said the Australian government purchased an additional 1.6 million courses of Relenza for the National Medical Stockpile to bolster supplies of antiviral drugs to treat pandemic influenza. The purchase cost is A$43 million (US$34.3 million). Biota developed the neuraminidase inhibitor, zanamivir, subsequently marketed by GlaxoSmithKline plc., of London, as Relenza. Biota earns a 10 percent royalty on all Australian sales of Relenza.

• Cytheris SA, of Paris, said data showed that following a vaccine-induced immune response, adjuvant interleukin-7 improved antitumor responses and survival in an animal model. The study was designed to test the exogenous recombinant human IL-7 in sustaining a primary in vivo response in lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-vaccinated tumor-bearing RIP mice. Results showed that the survival rates of IL-7-treated mice were prolonged by more than 100 days compared to control mice, and that the increase was dependent on efficient vaccination and the expression of glycoprotein on the tumor. Data were published in Nature Medicine.

• Cytopia Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said its partner, Cancer Therapeutics CRC Pty Ltd., of Victoria, Australia, confirmed the cancer target of the companies' 2008 collaboration as the enzyme focal adhesion kinase, a protein thought to play a role in the growth, invasion and spread of solid tumors. Cancer Therapeutics is working to identify a preclinical candidate against that target.

• DxS Ltd., of Manchester, UK, and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, entered an agreement, in which DxS will provide a companion diagnostic test kit for Boehringer Ingelheim's compound BIBW 2992 (Tovok) to identify mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Gene Bridges GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, said Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, completed the amendment to expand the 2005 commercial licensing agreement for use of its Red/ET recombination technology, which is used for generating targeting vectors or modifying E. coli chromosomes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• OncoMethylome Sciences SA, of Liege, Belgium, said an additional 24,540 common shares were issued in exchange for €110,000 (US$155,569) as a result of the exercise of warrants by some employees and company consultants. As a result, the firm now has about 13.2 million shares outstanding.

• Phosphagenics Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said it completed preclinical studies demonstrating that by incorporating its TPM/oxycodone into a transdermal patch system, the delivery of oxycodone was increased significantly when compared to TPM/oxycodone gel alone. Data showed that oxycodone concentrations produced by the patch reached nearly 160 ng/ml and remained significantly elevated and within therapeutic range for the duration of the four-hour study.

• Proteome Science plc, of Surrey, UK, entered a license agreement with Toronto-based Axela Inc. to develop assays to measure its brain damage biomarkers on Axela's multiplex biomarker assay dotLaB System. Under the terms, Axela will provide a dotLaB system and consumable reagents at the BPRG and obtains an option to license developed assays for research and diagnostic uses. Financial details were not disclosed.

• Virco BVBA, of Mechelen, Belgium, said it signed a global, nonexclusive licensing agreement with SiemensHealthcare Diagnostics Inc., of New York, under which Siemens will grant Virco a license for developing a new hepatitis C research service testing platform. That platform initially will be used for drug development support of HCV antivirals, with the aim of adding diagnostic testing services in the future. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• ZyGEM Corp. Ltd., of Hamilton, New Zealand, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Rubicon Genomics Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., to incorporate ZyGEM's advanced enzymatic nucleic acid extraction technology into Rubicon's preanalytical platform products designed to significantly improve the performance of DNA and RNA analytical instruments. The agreement, which will initially focus on diagnostic single-cell whole genome amplification kits, has the potential to be expanded to include products for broader research and diagnostic applications. No financial terms were disclosed.

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