Inspire, HGS announce hirings; Oro Valley at forefront of AZ's biotech industry;

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> Inspire Pharmaceuticals has entered into an executive employment agreement with Charles Johnson, who will become executive VP of R&D and CMO, effective Sept. 15. Inspire release

> Tuomo Pätsi has joined Human Genome Sciences as VP, HGS Europe. Pätsi, formerly regional VP, Northern Europe at Celgene International, will be responsible for European sales, marketing and medical affairs. HGS release

> The town of Oro Valley has found a winning formula for bringing high-tech, high-pay jobs home: be responsive to businesses and they will come. Innovation Park is the technological hotbed of Oro Valley. In the last decade, it has grown from 565 acres of empty desert, into the industrial home for much of Southern Arizona's biotech industry. Story

> Mission Bay is adding another VC. Life sciences venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures, based in Boston, will set up shop in San Francisco's Mission Bay biotech enclave. Third Rock principal Jake Bauer and a partner will move to San Francisco, according to the Boston Globe's Boston.com, and the firm will hire a new partner. News

> OriGene Technologies, a gene-centric life sciences company, has announced the acquisition of Blue Heron Biotechnology, a pioneer in the gene synthesis business since 1999.  OriGene release

> PharmAthene has reported financial and operational results for the second quarter and six months that ended June 30. The company saw a decline in revenue compared with the same periods last year due to the completion in the third quarter of 2009 of the first phase of development activities under the company's contract with the DoD for Protexia. PharmaAthene release

And Finally... Cannabis Science has executed a joint venture agreement with Smokefree Innotec. The objective of the joint venture is to develop and market several high-tech smoke-free vaporized medical cannabis pharmaceutical products. Both parties equally share in the revenues derived from this JV. Cannabis Science release