A development glitch may be responsible for the failure of a prototype vaccine against deadly avian influenza, developed by Sydney veterinary vaccine company Imugene (ASX:IMU). [ + ]

Ventracor (ASX:VCR) has wrapped up a "successful" pilot trial of its VentrAssist artificial heart device -- including one bridge-to-transplant patient who has now received a donor heart -- and is set to beef up its marketing and distribution capabilities, shareholders heard today at the company's AGM. [ + ]

Big pharma looks sick. A host of third-quarter earnings figures this week confirms the mounting pressures faced by many drug makers on both sides of the Atlantic as prices are squeezed, sales growth in major markets slows and research productivity falls. [ + ]

A pre-clinical trial in which 26 sheep were implanted with Sunshine Heart's (ASX:SHC) C-Pulse heart-assist device has shown it to be safe and functional, with all animals exhibiting normal arteries 10 months after the devices were implanted. [ + ]

PolyNovo Biomaterials, a 50-per cent owned subsidiary of Perth's Xceed Biotechnology (ASX:XBL), has entered a research alliance with Melbourne's Bionic Ear Institute to develop a more sophisticated bionic ear that could dramatically improve patients' hearing by inducing new auditory nerves to grow and connect with the bionic implant. [ + ]

New Jersey-based Merck has reported a 28 per cent drop in quarterly profit and said 2004 earnings will fall as much as 11 per cent due to last month's recall of its Vioxx arthritis drug. [ + ]

Visiomed (ASX: VSG) is readying itself to commence marketing and distribution of its Funhaler device worldwide, although it is still awaiting US FDA clearance for the product. [ + ]

According to eminent Australian stem cell researcher Prof Alan Trounson, stem cell science is in a great place at the moment. [ + ]

Amrad (ASX: AML) will receive its third US$3 million payment from Merck & Co after reaching another preclinical milestone in the development of new asthma therapies based on the IL-13 receptor. [ + ]

Amrad (ASX: AML) chairman Bob Moses told shareholders at the company's AGM that the company remained significantly undervalued, even though it had successfully restructured and refocused its portfolio to concentrate on inflammation and cancer, and spinning out the anti-infectives projects into Avexa. [ + ]

Genzyme has posted a third-quarter profit compared to a loss last year, when it took a big charge associated with an acquisition. [ + ]

Shares in Brisbane drug-developer Alchemia (ASX:ACL) rose 50 per cent to $0.80 today, on the back of news that it would be targeting antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" with a novel class of synthetic molecules that disrupt cell-wall synthesis in bacteria. [ + ]

Mice -- and perhaps humans -- can thrive when large amounts of so-called junk DNA are deleted from their genome, according to results of experiments reported in the October 21 issue of Nature. [ + ]

Brisbane biotech Benitec (ASX:BLT) shares were up 8 per cent to $0.65 today after it announced it had granted a worldwide, non-exclusive licence to Panomics, of Redwood City in California. The licence allows Panomics to make and sell products that exploit Benitec's patented DNA-directed RNAi gene-silencing technology. [ + ]

Newly-listed Proteome Systems (ASX: PXL) has entered into a collaboration with researchers at the Westmead Children's Hospital and Westmead Millennium Institute to develop diagnostics for the early diagnosis and monitoring of ovarian cancer. [ + ]