> Novartis taps Immusol for three-year, $78 million R&D partnership using the latter's gene inactivation technology. Release
> OncoGenex attracts more than $12 million in venture money to finance development of targeted cancer treatments. Release
> Commerce Health Ventures, a Pennsylvania venture fund, won $9.1 million in tobacco-settlement money to invest in life sciences start-ups. Story
> Savient Pharmaceuticals delayed its second-quarter report because it needs more time to evaluate possible errors in previous financial statements. Report
> Chiron inked a deal with Dutch biotech Crucell and allied contract manufacturer DSM Biologics for a recombinant protein to be used in Chiron's hepatitis C vaccine, currently in phase I clinical trials. Release
> IsoTis OrthoBiologics won FDA approval for use of its DynaGraft II synthetic bone-graft material in teeth; the compound got clearance for orthopaedic use earlier this year. Release
> Hawaii Biotech's West Nile vaccine shows 100 percent protection in a third animal study. Release
> North Carolina-based Regado Biosciences, a spin-off from Duke University Medical Center's surgery department that is developing an anticoagulant drug, has raised $20 million in second-round venture capital funding. Report
> WEX Pharmaceuticals is seeking a replacement for its CEO, recently sent to Asia to head up operations there. Release
And Finally... Biologists are struggling to construct a working electronic model of E. coli -- from scratch. Article