The University of Tasmania and commercialisation company Housefield have signed an intellectual property licensing agreement to develop the blood sampling technology known as MilliSpot. [ + ]

Virax Holdings (ASX:VHL) has closed the deal to acquire Pathway Oncology, and with it an exclusive licence to a first-in-class cancer therapeutic candidate. [ + ]

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) has secured economic incentives in Singapore, as part of efforts to prepare for commercial manufacturing of Prochymal, an allogenic stem cell product awaiting approval in GVHD. [ + ]

Japanese researchers have analysed the genome of a terrestrial alga, revealing the presence of genes that enable plants to cope with the extremes of life on land. [ + ]

The Australian Academy of Science held its annual Science at the Shine Dome gathering from 27-29 May. The theme of this year’s event was Celebrating Australian science - past present future. [ + ]

WA's Orthocell has commenced an $8m IPO, as it seeks to raise funds to expand the reach of its two TGA-approved regenerative medicine products and complete development of a third. [ + ]

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has dismissed an organic farmer's claims for $85,000 in damages over contamination from his neighbour's genetically modified (GM) canola crop. [ + ]

Federal Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane has announced the appointment of Penny Dobson as a new member of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) board. [ + ]

Software company Genalice is upgrading its next-generation sequencing (NGS) DNA data processing software Genalice Map. The product can process the DNA data of an entire human genome with 40x depth within 30 min on a commodity dual Intel Xeon E5 server. [ + ]

AusBiotech and Medicines Australia have provided a joint statement to the Minister for Industry, the Hon Ian Macfarlane, proposing steps that the federal government could take to build a stronger biopharmaceutical industry in Australia. [ + ]

Professor Andrew Holmes has become the new president of the Australian Academy of Science. [ + ]

Sienna Cancer Diagnostic has successfully registered its lead product, Anti-hTERT antibody (SCD-A7), with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). SCD-A7 is an antibody against telomerase, an enzyme which can be found in 80-90% of human carcinomas. [ + ]

A patient with relapsed multiple myeloma responded well to a combination of Patrys's (ASX:PAB) PAT-SM6 and a proteosome inhibitor, which bodes well for an upcoming trial. [ + ]

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has dismissed the Marsh v Baxter case involving organic and conventional farming practices. [ + ]

Minomic International announced that it aims to complete the process of applying for a CE Mark for prostate cancer diagnostics test MiSat ELISA by the fourth quarter. [ + ]