Industry News
Ellex awarded $3.3m R&D grant
Adelaide company Ellex Medical Lasers (ASX:ELX) has been awarded a AUD$3.3 million R&D Start grant from the federal government to develop a new ophthalmic laser device. [ + ]
pSivida to focus on cancer diagnostics
Perth-based nanotechnology company pSivida (ASX: PSD) has selected cancer diagnostics as the first target area for its in vivo immunodiagnostic system. [ + ]
C3 gets nod for entry into European market
Perth company Clinical Cell Culture (C3) has received approval for its CellSpray and CellSpray XP products in Germany and Austria, paving the way for entry into the European market. [ + ]
CSIRO team clones wheat flowering gene
CSIRO Plant Industry researchers have cloned the gene that probably laid the foundation for Australia's lucrative wheat industry more than a century ago. [ + ]
NZ to trial GM onions
New Zealand's Crop and Food Research Institute has received approval from the country's Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) to conduct a contained field trial of genetically modified onions. [ + ]
Obesity start-up Adipogen wins VC funding boost
Brisbane biomedical company Adipogen has received a new injection of venture capital to pursue a novel therapy for obesity that would involve blocking the proliferation of fat-storage cells, or adipocytes. [ + ]
Ventracor trial patient dies from pre-existing condition
One of the four patients to have been implanted with Ventracor's artificial heart device to date has died from an unrelated medical condition, the company (ASX: VCR) reported yesterday. [ + ]
Dow hopes to test new insect-resistant cotton lines
The prospect of Australia's cotton industry returning to the continent's well-watered tropics has enticed a new player to test its transgenic wares against the insect monsters that ate the Ord. [ + ]
Cerylid touts progress in Japanese deal
Melbourne drug-discovery company Cerylid Biosciences is ready to begin beating the bushes for natural immunomodulatory compounds for its new partner, a Japanese drugmaker. [ + ]
Newly-listed Cryptome hires new CEO
Melbourne company Cryptome Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CRP) has appointed Dr Jeffrey Travis to take over from Dr Warren Kinston as CEO. [ + ]
Peptech, Abbott resolve patent dispute
After receiving tidings of comfort and joy on Christmas Eve, Sydney-based biotech Peptech (ASX:PTD) has established a solid strategic position for the endgame of its corporate chess match with the two leading players in the rheumatoid arthritis antibody therapy business. [ + ]
BioDiem gets a sniff of $50 million 'flu vaccine fund
In the middle of its AUD$10 million float, Melbourne pharmaceutical development company BioDiem has been buoyed by news that the US Food and Drug Administration has allocated $US50 million to boost production of influenza vaccines, which are in chronically short supply in North America. [ + ]
Meditech secures deal with Danish firm
Meditech Research (ASX:MTR) has ended the year with the achievement of a major milestone, entering into an agreement with Danish biotechnology company Novozymes. [ + ]
Alchemia, Rockeby on track for pre-Christmas float
Local biotechs Alchemia and Rockeby Biomed are set to list on the ASX next week after successfully raising $21 million and $4 million, respectively, in oversubscribed IPOs. [ + ]
NZ's Genesis spins out plant branch
Auckland-based biotech Genesis Research and Development Corporation has lopped its plant sciences branch and planted it in the market as a fully-owned but independently managed scion, AgriGenesis BioSciences. [ + ]
