Recently listed Sydney biopharma Apollo Life Sciences (ASX:AOP) has acquired a fully operational pre-clinical testing facility in Sydney, including equipment and staff with expertise in targeted and topical drug delivery. [ + ]

Bone disease biopharmaceutical company Bone Medical (ASX:BNE) has issued a prospectus with the aim of raising approximately AUD$3.1 million. [ + ]

Sydney-based gastrointestinal drug development company Giaconda (ASX:GIA) has listed today on the Australian Stock Exchange at AUD$0.585, eight cents above its issue price of $0.50. [ + ]

Melbourne and California-based ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CXS) has expanded phase II clinical trials of its investigational anti-cancer drug Quinamed to include patients with breast and ovarian cancer. [ + ]

UK-based NeuroSolutions, the fully owned subsidiary of neurology-focused biotech NeuroDiscovery (ASX:NDL), is to receive about AUD$100,000 for providing electrophysiology services to drug development company Senexis over the next four months. [ + ]

Acrux (ASX:ACR) has been granted four more US patents relating to its transdermal drug delivery technology. [ + ]

Melbourne TAFE college Box Hill Institute (BHI) has engaged former AusBiotech executive director and CEO Dr Anthony Coulepis to advise on the delivery of education and training through its recently launched BioSkills initiative. [ + ]

AstraZeneca has agreed to extend the completion date for a validation study of Prima Biomed (ASX:PRR) subsidiary Arthron's anti-inflammatory Fc receptor target. [ + ]

An Australian expert on influenza believes it is unlikely that migratory birds will carry Asia's lethal H5N1 'bird 'flu' strain to Australia. [ + ]

Sydney-based drug developer Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) has opened a public offering on the sale of ordinary shares in US and a placement of shares in Australia to fund further clinical trials of its lead drugs Bronchitol and Aridol. [ + ]

Sydney-based Life Therapeutics (ASX:LFE) has acquired privately-held California-based Pyramid Biological for US$13 million, plus assumption of US$7 million debt, increasing its stake in the global plasma supply industry. [ + ]

Epitan (ASX:EPT) founder and former managing director and CEO Dr Wayne Millen is set to retire as chairman of the board at the end of October but intends to continue to play a role in the company and the biotech sector. [ + ]

Melbourne's Amrad Corporation (ASX:AML) has proposed that its name be changed to Zenyth Therapeutics. [ + ]

The University of Queensland is establishing the Queensland Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Network (QNN), placing UQ at the forefront of international research in structural biology, biodiscovery and animal neuroimaging.

Adult stem cell specialist Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) has received ethics approval to commence its first human orthopaedic trial. [ + ]