Immune disease drug discovery company Cytopia has again joined forces with Californian life sciences group Chemicon International, this time to develop and commercialise recombinant protein kinases. [ + ]

Queensland is moving to ease the nasty shock felt by fledgling biotechs hatched in the tertiary sector's "sheltered workshop" environment when they encounter the cost of commercial office and lab space. [ + ]

Australian scientists with funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are in danger of losing their rights to intellectual property resulting from their research. [ + ]

Scientists at the Centre for Legumes in a Mediterranean Climate (CLIMA) in Western Australia are using transgenic techniques to develop new varieties of legumes with resistance to viruses. [ + ]

Drug discovery company Promics has received a $2.5 million vote of confidence in its anti-inflammatory candidate PMX 53 from venture capital backers. [ + ]

An external inquiry will be held to investigate complaints made against University of NSW immunologist and renal specialist Prof Bruce Hall. [ + ]

Cbio announced at the Bio 2002 conference in Toronto that it had successfully manufactured its first drug, called Early Pregnancy Factor (EPF), and was on track to start its first clinical trials next year. [ + ]

Victoria's government has committed $2 million to a collaboration with Canada aimed at developing synchrotron beamlines. [ + ]

A spokesman for Queensland Premier Peter Beattie yesterday dismissed fears that a $486 million operating deficit in accrued accounts this financial year will affect funds promised for biotech projects. [ + ]

A laboratory for studying one of the great mysteries of the universe has opened at the University of Sussex in England.

Chemeq has raised another $2.75 million as a result of a share purchase plan offered to its shareholders last month, bringing the total amount of funds raised recently to about $7.5 million. [ + ]

Instrumentation and software developer Axon Instruments has signed an exclusive deal with the US maker of an electrode device that can be used to scan potential drugs for use in heart disease, chronic pain, diabetes, high blood pressure and migraine. [ + ]

Instrumentation company Waters Australia will be assisting Canberra-based Biotron in its CT-1 cancer biomarker project, according to details of a new collaboration. [ + ]

Efforts to pursue North American business opportunities for Victorian biotechs have been redoubled with the opening today of a dedicated office in San Francisco. [ + ]

Australian technology enabling the collection of intracellular fluid for analyte measurement without the use of a needle has gained a United States patent. [ + ]