CSL, the world's largest maker of human plasma products, tripled its annual net profit with the sale of its animal health business and its purchase of Aventis Behring at a discount to asset value. [ + ]

Melbourne brain-disease drug-discovery company Prana Biotechnology (ASX:PBT, NASDAQ:PRAN) has reported an after-tax loss of $9.9 million in the year to June. [ + ]

Johnson & Johnson has added a new warning to the label for rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade about blood disorders that sometimes were fatal, US regulators have announced. [ + ]

Metabolic Pharmaceuticals (ASX: MBP) is preparing for a busy year, with the results due in November for its critical Phase IIb clinical trial of obesity drug AOD9604 and the move into formal preclinical development for a second product. [ + ]

Sydney’s Ambri Technology (ASX:ABI) has announced a net operating loss of $11.4 million for 2004, 35 per cent below last year’s loss of $17.6 million. The company also said earlier this week that its SensiDx ion-channel pregnancy test sensor had yet to meet the full requirements of a commercial viability trial (CVT) in a clinical setting. [ + ]

US life science technologies provider Invitrogen will spend $3 million to expand its cGMP facilities for manufacturing bovine serum-based products and reagents in NSW. [ + ]

Brisbane gene-silencing company Benitec (ASX:BLT) and renowned Los Angeles medical research centre City of Hope (COH) have joined forces to develop a genetic bear trap for the AIDS virus, that they hope will prolong the lives of AIDS patients. [ + ]

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (ASX: CXS) reported an AUD$5.1 million loss for the 2003-2004, with around $2 million of the loss attributable to costs associated with the merger between Australian company AGT Biosciences and US company ChemGenex Therapeutics in late June. [ + ]

Perth biotech Solbec Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SPB) has expanded the Phase IIb clinical trial for its devil’s apple extract SBP002 – which is already showing promise as a treatment for mesothelioma -- and is commencing clinical trial identification studies against other forms of cancer. [ + ]

As reports emerge of a new avian influenza outbreak in Malaysia and rumours that pigs in China are now being infected with the virus herald a potential pandemic, Imugene (ASX: IMU) and CSIRO Livestock Industries have announced they will start an efficacy trial in coming weeks to evaluate their new avian influenza vaccine in chickens. [ + ]

A compound used by blueberries and grapes to fight off fungal infections could help lower cholesterol, US researchers have reported. [ + ]

Public unlisted animal plasma company PlasVacc has filed a prospectus with Asic to raise AUD$4.75 million to fund its planned acquisition of Californian equine plasma company Veterinary Dynamics (VDI). [ + ]

Long-time biotech investment group Circadian (ASX: CIR) is planning to return AUD$0.50 cents per share to investors after posting a $5.8 million profit for the 2003-2004 financial year with an even better profit forecast for next year. [ + ]

The Australian Research Council’s Research Network Program is out of the starting gates. It was announced today that 24 new research networks will be established across Australia with $42 million in funding from the federal government. [ + ]

Research and development funding is up for grabs once more under round two of the federal government’s $150 million Pharmaceuticals Partnerships Program – known as P3 – which opened for applications today. [ + ]