Novartis and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. have formed a new collaboration to develop RNAi therapeutics for pandemic flu. This collaboration is in addition to the collaboration formed by the two companies in September 2005, and significantly reinforces the development program for pandemic flu announced by Alnylam in December 2005. In the newly formed collaboration, Alnylam and Novartis will advance RNAi therapeutics for pandemic flu to initial clinical testing and, if successful, regulatory approval. This new alliance leverages Alnylam’s expertise in RNAi and Novartis’ capabilities and experience in bringing innovative therapeutics to patients. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read the press release.

Strand Life Sciences, a developer of in silico technologies, announced that it has entered into collaboration with Pharmidex, a company focused on assessing the ability of compounds to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Both companies focus on providing solutions to facilitate the discovery and development of new medicines. Under the collaborative agreement, both Strand and Pharmidex will promote each other’s existing offerings and jointly develop new software to predict the ability of compounds to cross the BBB. This effectively combines the in silico expertise of Strand with the BBB-focused offering of Pharmidex, which includes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo methodologies.Read the press release.

DeCODE Genetics today announced top-line results from Phase I clinical studies of DG041, the company's developmental compound for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The company has completed the Phase I studies of DG041 and expects to begin a Phase II clinical trial before mid-year. "We are very encouraged by the data coming out of our Phase I program and are well on track with our plans to begin Phase II. An oral compound that inhibits platelet aggregation without increasing bleeding time is indeed exciting. I think also that our chemistry unit has continued to do stellar work in this program. Last fall they succeeded, in a matter of weeks, in coming up with a new formulation of DG041 that greatly improved bioavailability. From the discovery of a gene linked to PAD to where we are today, we have probably cut the industry-standard timeline for drug discovery and development in half," said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE. Read the press release.

Phase Forward announced that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the U.K.'s regulatory agency, has implemented the company's Lincoln Technologies pharmacovigilance signal detection and signal management product, WebVDME. The software will be used by MHRA clinicians, pharmacists and scientists to examine reports of suspected drug side effects from medicines received through its Yellow Card Scheme, a system used to collect information on suspected adverse drug reactions. Read the press release.