As part of its strategy to move into the Asian region, Norwood Abbey has appointed a new commercial partner to market its range of laser assisted drug delivery products. [ + ]

Peptech is to lose its managing director Stephen Kwik in the first glimpse of what chairman Mel Bridges has dubbed a "broadening and deepening of scope" for the therapeutic peptide and protein biotech. [ + ]

Chair of the Australian Synchrotron Research Program (ASRP) and ANSTO CEO, Professor Helen Garnett, has announced six leading scientists from Australia and overseas will each received fellowship grants of around $70,000 per year to conduct research into improved cancer treatments, forensics, molecular biology, minerals, synthetics and technology.

pSiMedica, a subsidiary of Perth-based pSivida (ASX: PSD), has signed an agreement with the UK-based McComb Foundation to evaluate its nanostructured porous silica material BioSilicon as a tissue-engineering substrate. [ + ]

A just-released BioForum report by business watchers PricewaterhouseCoopers has talked up the life sciences sector, based on a strong Q4 performance and positive investor sentiment thanks to better than average results compared to the five previous quarters. [ + ]

Buoyed by the data from a recent research paper out of Cambridge University, gene discovery biotech AGT Biosciences has announced it has broadened its patent covering PARL (formerly gene AGT203) to cover cancer, aging and some other diseases. [ + ]

Biopharma Novogen has been granted a US patent for isoflavone treatment for fibroids and endometriosis specific to women. [ + ]

The Australian Proteome Analysis Facility (APAF) has "dramatically increased its throughput capability" with the installation of a new Applied Biosystems 4700 Proteomics Discovery System. [ + ]

Sydney's Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute has signed a deal to investigate a tissue restorative agent, BDM-K, for Melbourne biopharma BioDiem [ + ]

Melbourne-based EpiTan's share price (ASX:EPT) has doubled since April, but that's just because of increased market awareness, the company has told the Australian Stock Exchange. [ + ]

A new fund, spearheaded by stockbrokers Intersuisse, British VC Rothschild Bioscience Managers and Sequence Capital Group, aims to raise AUD$150 million and overseas backing for Australian biotech companies. [ + ]

An Australian scientist has been elected Vice-President of the international body that guides research into the nature of our planet.

UK scientist and entrepreneur Prof Peter Shepherd is amazed at how much biotechnology activity there is in Australia. [ + ]

US firm Avi BioPharma has asked US regulators to grant 'orphan' status to its experimental drug against the virus that causes SARS, a designation meant to provide seven years of marketing exclusivity for medicines. [ + ]

While the incidence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) -- the human form of mad cow disease -- appears to have slowed in the UK after 146 confirmed cases since the epidemic began in the mid-1990's, a new wave of cases could be waiting in the wings, according to Australian neuroscientist Prof Colin Masters. [ + ]