Starpharma (ASX:SPL) was forced into a trading halt this morning after a report in Melbourne broadsheet The Age revealed that Starpharma's US subsidiary Dendritic Nanotechnologies (DNT) was about to consummate an intellectual property deal with US giant Dow Chemical company. [ + ]

Sydney-based Biosignal (ASX:BOS) has engaged Custom Pharmaceutical Serivces, a business unit of Indian generics-manufacturing specialist Dr Reddy's Laboratories, to develop a large-scale manufacturing procedure for Biosignal's antibacterial furanone compounds. [ + ]

The first full-scale production season for Australia's new Bollgard 2 transgenic cotton cultivars is shaping as an outstanding success, despite continuing drought in areas of NSW and southern Queensland. [ + ]

Nanotechnology company Psivida (ASX:PSD) is to join a small band of Australian biotechs on the US Nasdaq market, announcing today it had filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to its planned listing of American Depositary Shares (ADSs). [ + ]

French-based clinical trial contractor Cvitkovic and Associates Consultants (CAC) will take equity in Brisbane cancer-drug developer Peplin Biotech (ASX:PEP) and establish a 'dedicated operation' in Australia. [ + ]

Adelaide biotech company GroPep (ASX: GRO) will profit substantially from the sale of JRH Biosciences to Sigma-Aldrich -- the company has negotiated for the transfer of its marketing, sales and distribution agreement with CSL to JRH, through the life of the agreement, which expires in 2010. [ + ]

CSL (ASX: CSL) has sold its JRH Biosciences cell culture reagents division to US company Sigma-Aldrich for US$370 million (about AUD$492 million) in cash. [ + ]

John McKinley is to resign as CEO of Brisbane-base RNAi specialist Benitec (ASX:BLT) and Sydney solicitor Ray Whitten -- a 5.79 per cent shareholder through Barbary Coast Investments -- has been appointed as chairman of its board. [ + ]

Melbourne drug developer Avexa (ASX:AVX) has taken the bold step of in-licensing a promising late-stage developmental drug for HIV/AIDS from international specialty pharmaceutical company Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, seeking to create a strong revenue stream to fund its growth. [ + ]

Draft guidelines are already having an impact on the way biotechnology companies communicate, according to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). [ + ]

Biopharma company Novogen (ASX: NRT) has settled a patent infringement suit with giant US health food supplements retailer GNC. The lawsuit, which was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, alleged that certain menopause products sold under the GNC brand infringed Novogen's red clover isoflavone patents. [ + ]

Imugene (ASX: IMU) has been granted patent protection for its Receptor Mimic Technology (RMT) in the United States. [ + ]

The Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, headquartered at Sydney's Macquarie University, is to team up with global life science supplier Qiagen in a AUD$1m research project to develop more efficient ways of removing high-abundance proteins from serum samples. [ + ]

Following the resignation just before Christmas of AusBiotech executive director Tony Coulepis, the industry body will appoint a CEO to replace him. [ + ]

Queensland BioCapital Funds has invested a further $1.9 million in antibiotic-developer Glycoz, bringing its total stake in the company to $2.4 million [ + ]