Prof Peter Høj, currently director of the Australian Wine Research Institute, has been appointed the new CEO of the Australian Research Council (ARC). [ + ]

Perth-based Stirling Products (ASX:STI) is preparing for the first animal trials of its ST810 growth promotion agent in sheep. [ + ]

Life Therapeutics, the company formerly known as Gradipore (ASX: GDP), has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK company Bio Products Laboratories (BPL) over the potential acquisition of a recombinant human anti-D immunoglobulin (rAnti-D). [ + ]

Market analysts are wondering whether the windown for Australian biotech IPOs has slammed shut. [ + ]

AGT Biosciences has completed the last step in its merger with ChemGenex Therapeutics with the official name change of the company going through. Approval by AGT shareholders was obtained last week at an EGM. [ + ]

Brisbane-based Peplin Biotech (ASX: PEP) announced today that its US partner Allergan had filed two amended IND applications with the FDA for Peplin's PEP005, a topical formulation for skin cancer treatment. [ + ]

Eiffel Technologies (ASX: EIF) has signed an agreement with Singapore company NanoMaterials Technology to jointly develop new technology for drug reengineering. [ + ]

Perth-based opthamology specialist Regenera (ASX: RGA) today extended its IP portfolio, announcing the assignment on an Australian provisional patent to its subsdiary Retmed. [ + ]

Auckland anti-cancer drug developer Proacta Therapeutics is celebrating after stitching together a venture-capital deal to begin human clinical trials of two of its lead compounds next year. [ + ]

Melbourne gene-test company Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) has granted a license to New Zealand agbiotech company Ovita Limited to apply GTG’s non-coding DNA patents to its own internal activities. [ + ]

Agenix (ASX: AGX) subsidiary Agen Biomedical has agreed to settle its litigation with its former US distributor Synbiotics over alleged infringements of Synbiotics' canine heartworm diagnostics and related supply contract issues. [ + ]

Sydney-based pooled development fund BioTech Capital (ASX:BTC) has dipped its toe into the medical device sector with a $2 million investment in Continence Control Systems (CCS). [ + ]

The Science Industry Australia (SIA) has released their latest newsletter 'Science Industry "Action"' in line with the launch of the Science Industry Action Agenda by the Commonwealth Government.

Sydney-based biotechnology company Avastra (ASX: AVS) has turned in one of the poorest performances amongst recent biotech IPOs, after listing without fanfare earlier this week. In their Wednesday debut, Avastra shares dropped below their AUD$1.00 issue price to close at $0.85. At time of writing, they had slumped further to AUD$0.72. [ + ]

North Ryde animal-health biopharma Imugene Limited (ASX:IMU) is fast-tracking the commercialisation of its recently acquired receptor mimic technology (RMT). [ + ]