Melbourne-based Amrad (ASX:AML) will now be known as Zenyth Therapeutics, following a vote at the company's AGM today. [ + ]

UK human domain-antibody (dAb) developer Domantis has reported spectacular success in trial of an inhaled anti-inflammatory dAB in an in vivo model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). [ + ]

Industry peak body AusBiotech has urged crop growers and marketers to throw their support behind GM technology, following the release of a report that found current legal, farming and commercial systems can adequately deal with issues that may arise from the use of the technology. [ + ]

Testable genetic differences might be used to predict the effectiveness of a medication commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a new study suggests.

Drug developer Phylogica (ASX:PYC) and artificial heart company Sunshine Heart (ASX:SHC) have been awarded a Commercial Ready grants from AusIndustry, worth $2.27 million and $2.223 million respectively. [ + ]

Communication technology will be a key driver of medical innovation in the future, a senior Johnson & Johnson executive told a Sydney forum this week. [ + ]

Sydney medical device company CathRx (ASX:CXD)has made a dream debut on the ASX - after opening at AUD$1.11, shares in the company have traded hands today at up to $1.35, a premium of 35 per cent. [ + ]

A technique used to detect land mines could soon help rheumatologists and radiologists diagnose osteoarthritis and cervical cancer, thanks in part to the efforts of a University of Missouri-Rolla researcher.

Monash University researchers have determined the structure of a key oncoprotein, JAK2, being targeted by Melbourne oncology drug developer Cytopia (ASX:CYT). [ + ]

Australian pharma Novogen has received further positive news from a US trial of its experimental cancer-resensitising agent phenoxodiol. [ + ]

It's hardly surprising that one of the Australian biotechnology industry's biggest bugbears is a communication gap between companies and their investors. [ + ]

Sydney-based artificial heart company Ventracor (ASX:VCR) will report its first operating revenues of more than $300,000 in the first half of the 2006 financial year. [ + ]

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre say they have discovered a potential oncongene in ovarian cancer, which is the leading cause of gynaecological cancer death in US women.

Solbec Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SBP) has selected malignant melanoma and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) as the first two tumour types for multiple target activity phase II trials of its lead compound Coramsine in the treatment of advanced tumours. [ + ]

Three Victorian institutes, the MacFarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, the University of Melbourne and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, have applied to host the WHO Collaborative Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, which is currently based at the CSL site in Parkville, Melbourne. [ + ]