The chief executive officer and three other directors have resigned from Bio21 following a restructure that has seen the company abandon its commercial focus. [ + ]

Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have discovered that treatment with cytokine Leukaemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) can reverse the loss of nerve cells in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). [ + ]

The 2nd Australian Microarray Meeting is to be held at Couran Cove Resort, Sth Stradbroke Island from July 24th to 26th 2002. The meeting will focus on show casing recent national and international advances in expression profiling and other microarray technologies.

Opponents of stem cell research taking part in consultative processes on draft legislation were shocked and surprised by the announcement that the Stem Cells and Tissue Repair consortium had won the Federal government's $46.5 million Centre of Excellence funding. [ + ]

Troubled biopharmaceutical group Vita Life Sciences has warned shareholders not to expect much from the natural medicines arm of its business in the coming year. [ + ]

A new clinical diagnostic assay for prostate cancer detection is starting clinical trials at St Vincent's Clinic in Sydney. [ + ]

Australian Research Council CEO Prof Vicki Sara has been admitted by special election as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, for her contribution to recent government reforms and initiatives. [ + ]

A proposal to create a Centre for Stem Cells and Tissue Repair has won a $46.5 million Federal grant to create a national Biotechnology Centre of Excellence. [ + ]

Australian biotechnology company Peptech posted a net loss of $4.6 million on Wednesday for the half-year ended March 31, 2002, but said that the progress of key patents in the US would guarantee meaningful new revenue streams going forward. [ + ]

Australia's biotech sector needed to focus on improving early stage compound validation to reduce the exorbitant costs of project attrition, experts said yesterday. [ + ]

The American National Cancer Institute is scheduling advanced appraisals of an Australian anti-cancer drug which has produced impressive results in preliminary trials. [ + ]

Australian biotechnology companies may be heading for a further tumble, delegates at the Financing Biotechnology meeting in Sydney this week were told. [ + ]

Drug delivery company Meditech Research has named sought-after business analyst Bob Moses as chairman of its board. [ + ]

In what should prove an interesting point of discussion at the upcoming Australian Stem Cell Summit on July 30 and 31 in Melbourne, the federal government has awarded $46 million to scientists for human embryo stem-cell research.

Prana Biotechnology is following up recent successful Phase II clinical trials of its therapy for age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's with a bid to list on the US Nasdaq. [ + ]