Melbourne-based Genetic Technologies (GTG) has inked its biggest deal yet, with Swedish DNA company Pyrosequencing. [ + ]

US anti-cancer therapeutics company ImClone Systems has signed an agreement with UK antibody engineering company Domantis, to use Domantis' proprietary domain-antibody technology to develop new therapeutics. [ + ]

There's no easy way of popping a gene into human cells to repair or replace a defective gene -- at least, not yet. But Dr Andy Choo's research team at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne is developing such a technology: a sort of plug-and-play gene 'cassette' employing a tiny, but fully functional human artificial chromosome. [ + ]

Australian developers of a genetically-engineered vaccine against whooping cough are taking some of the wraps off their work in a bid to attract funding for human clinical trials. [ + ]

Government opposition to genetically modified food crops is hardening at the State level, even as the potential approval for such crops draws nearer at the Federal level. [ + ]

Institutional shareholders in Polartechnics have tipped another $AUD3.63 million into the medical devices company, buoyed by the belief it is on the threshold of commercial viability. [ + ]

Half year results for drug developer Progen Industries reveal revenues from its contract drug manufacturing and life sciences sales and distribution arms continue to rise, helping offset development costs of its anti-cancer drug candidates. [ + ]

Researchers at Monash University have begun sifting through the database from Australia's first bacterial genome project, looking for targets for a vaccine against an unusual microbe that can kill, or leave survivors chronically depressed. [ + ]

Queensland biotechnology company Benitec says CSIRO has "no claim" to its patented technology for gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi). [ + ]

Researchers at Melbourne-based devices company Pulmosonix have received a $AUD165,000 development grant from the NHMRC to work on a new device for simple and non-invasive assessment of the condition of deeper tissues and organs. [ + ]

Meditech Research has been granted ethics committee approval to begin a Phase II clinical trial testing two anti-cancer drugs, HyFIVE and HyCAMP, on colorectal cancer patients, the company said yesterday. [ + ]

A revenue increase of 26 per cent has helped Melbourne-based Institute of Drug Technology (IDT) push its net profit up nine per cent to $AUD2,077,053 in the half year ending December 31, 2002. [ + ]

Melbourne-based imaging technology developer Iatia is positive about the prospects of the company despite low cash reserves, CEO Brian Powell said today. [ + ]

US biomedical company Centocor continues to puzzle analysts and investors alike with its refusal to pay royalties on its market-leading rheumatoid arthritis therapy Remicade to small Sydney biotechnology company Peptech. [ + ]

CK Life Sciences, the biotech child of Asian business tycoon Li Ka Shing, will this month start an Australian trial of an AIDS vaccine drawn from ancient Chinese herbal remedies after inking a $600,000 deal with the Swinburne University Graduate School of Integrative Medicine. [ + ]