Is the NSW Carr government -- the first state government to legislate for a moratorium on genetically modified crops -- having second thoughts? [ + ]

Melbourne-based licensing and business development group BioComm has opened an office in London to facilitate licensing and partnering activities in Europe. [ + ]

Sirtex (ASX: SRX) has been awarded a AUD$1.311 million R&D Start grant from AusIndustry to commercialise its Targeted Hyperthermia Therapy. [ + ]

The pharmaceutical industry is expected to face pressure to curb rising prescription-drug costs no matter which candidate wins next week's US presidential election. [ + ]

It's the Tasman paradox: although Australia and New Zealand are the world's leading exporters of grazing-derived products, they have both struggled to develop viable agricultural biotechnology industries. Why? [ + ]

A leading New Zealand biotechnologist has urged Australian and New Zealand medical researchers to establish a trans-Tasman research consortium to explore the body's cell-signalling systems. [ + ]

The Biosphere New Zealand Roadshow 2004 has hit the road in Melbourne, arguing the case for a strategic union of the biotechnology industries on either side of the Tasman Sea. [ + ]

Prima Biomed (ASX: PRR) announced today it had finalised its $10 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. [ + ]

Optiscan (ASX:OIL) has won earlier-than-expected clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the flexible endomicroscope it is jointly developing with Pentax. [ + ]

A research team at the University of Queensland has identified a promising new target for an anti-obesity therapy: an enzyme that appears to have a central role in the development of fat-storage cells called adipocytes. [ + ]

A potentially lucrative drug-development deal between UK pharma Argenta and domain-antibody pioneer Domantis limited has added a silver lining to the week for Sydney biotech Peptech (ASX:PTD), which has a 36.1 per cent stake in Domantis. [ + ]

Onyx Pharmaceuticals - which is developing one of the most promising new cancer therapies on the horizon - has said it will not file for US approval of its kidney cancer drug as soon as some investors had anticipated. [ + ]

Danish company Novozyme is aiming to become the "Intel" of biopharmaceuticals, and is looking for opportunities for partnerships, acquisitions and technology licensing in Australia. [ + ]

Melbourne's Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTX, NASDAQ:GNTLY) will be ensuring Australian punters won't be sold the proverbial pup, after signing an exclusive, five-year contract with Greyhounds Australasia to provide DNA-based parentage testing to the greyhound racing industry in Australia and New Zealand. [ + ]

Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) has achieved a major milestone with the successful completion of the Phase III clinical trial for its asthma diagnostic and treatment management tool Aridol. [ + ]