News

Ardana Plc is restructuring its business to reduce its cash commitments while looking to sell or merge the company, according to company announcements on 19 February 2008.

Pharmexa A/S, a Danish company that is developing immunotherapy vaccines for treatment of serious cancers, is reducing its development programmes, cutting staff numbers by 20% and moving to smaller premises in an effort to conserve cash while it looks for a buyer for all or part of its assets.

Pharming Group NV of the Netherlands said its cash position improved in 2007 following a successful convertible bond issue in October which raised €70 million. Cash on 31 December was €65.3 million compared with €31.3 million a year earlier.

Stem Cell Sciences Plc (SCS) is closing its office in Edinburgh, UK, streamlining its operations in Melbourne, Australia, and moving its operational base to the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK, where management will focus on negotiating research collaborations with pharmaceutical companies.

Pronova BioPharma ASA, which produces marine-originated pharmaceutical products, said revenues increased by 32.3% in the fourth quarter of 2007 to NOK 269.4 million on stronger US sales of its lead product, Lovaza.

Scientists at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute have started a Phase 1 trial for a new candidate vaccine against malaria, which is designed to stimulate an immune response to the malaria parasite by using a genetically modified chimpanzee adenovirus.

The number of companies seeking SME status (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) with the European Medicines Agency rose by 40% in 2007 from a year earlier, according to Melanie Carr, head of the agency’s SME office.

Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, the Italian biopharmaceutical company, is to acquire Hunter-Fleming Ltd., a privately-held British company focused on neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders, in an all-share transaction.

Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) that have done preclinical work on developing advanced therapies, such as gene or cell products, will be eligible to receive a certificate from the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) verifying that their preclinical data package meets European regulatory standards for quality and safety.

4SC AG, which has developed a computer-based technology for screening drug candidates, has entered into a research collaboration with the Wuppertal-based company, AiCuris GmbH, to investigate anti-infective drug candidates.