Peplin (ASX:PEP) has suspended its shares from the ASX's official quotation in the lead-up to an announcement. [ + ]

Jim Bishop, CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, spoke about the state of play at the Institute 18 months after its launch, the progress it has made so far and its plans for the coming year at in Sydney last week. [ + ]

Sydney biomaterials company Avastra (ASX:AVS) has decided not to exercise its option to acquire the global rights to the Universitaetsklinikum Freiburg's Benz Stent technology. [ + ]

Norwood Immunology, a subsidiary of Norwood Abbey (ASX:NAL) has been granted a additional patent relating to its immunology technology for a number of Eurasian territories, including Russia. [ + ]

The recent installation of new equipment at antimicrobial specialist Chemeq's (ASX:CMQ) Rockingham manufacturing facility has overcome a filtration issue identified during commissioning of the plant. [ + ]

Newly listed Sydney biopharma Apollo (ASX:AOP) has added another 10 more human-expressed proteins (HEPs) to its library, bringing its portfolio of provisionally patented proteins to 60. [ + ]

Three days after the death of the first patient to be implanted with its C-Pulse heart-assist pump, Sunshine Heart (ASX:SHC) has announced that a second patient has been successfully implanted with the device in a two-hour operation at New Zealand's Auckland City Hospital. [ + ]

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial of Melbourne biopharma Cytopia's (ASX:CYT) promising dual-acting lead anti-cancer molecule CYT997. [ + ]

Thermo Electron has concluded an OEM Agreement with Sotax AG, whereby Sotax dissolution baths will be offered with Thermo's Nicolet Evolution 300 UV/vis spectrophotometer. This collaboration will provide pharmaceutical customers with a high-quality, complete, and automated turnkey system supporting various pharmacopoeia methods.

Brisbane biotech BioProspect (ASX:BPO) has hit heavy cloud in its attempts to secure international partners to commercialise its novel plant-derived pesticides, but feels the sun is beginning to shine on its investment in Astrum Therapeutics. [ + ]

The first patient to receive Sunshine Heart's (ASX:SHC) C-Pulse heart assist device on May 4, has died from multi-organ failure, 11.5 weeks after the implant. [ + ]

The NASDAQ stock market has launched a new Health Care Index (NASDAQ:IXHC), a market-value weighted index that contains NASDAQ listed companies classified as health, pharmaceutical or biotechnology. [ + ]

BioTech Capital (ASX:BTC) investee Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) has been granted additional claims to the 'stem cell selection' patented technology by the US Patent and Trademark Office. [ + ]

Public support for the use of stem cells and gene therapies has increased in Australia, and support for cloning humans remains low, according to a survey conducted by commonwealth agency Biotechnology Australia. [ + ]

The federal government endorsed the recommendations of the Science Industry Action Agenda Measure by Measure report on July 12, giving the go ahead for the eight recommendations made in the report to be implemented. [ + ]