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GEORGE T. TENET, Director of the CIA, has announced that the agency is establishing an independent, nonprofit, venture-capital corporation to develop partnerships with information technology leaders. The corporation will be called In-Q-It. Initial funding is a congressionally appropriated $28.5 million. It is expected that In-Q-It will invest in companies and form joint ventures with firms that have strategic, unclassified projects that would benefit the activities of the CIA.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S OFFICE OF SCIENCE has issued a plan designed to direct its future research objectives. DOE’s future research is directed to five major goals. These goals are providing affordable and clean fuels for the future, protecting the planet from impacts of energy use, exploring the components of matter and energy, providing extraordinary tools for multidisciplinary research, and acting as stewards of the public trust with respect to scientific excellence. In addition to the plan, DOE has also prepared a science portfolio to provide a detailed look at the department’s science investments, activities, and near-term resources. Both reports can be found at DOE’s Science Office Internet site (http://www.sc.doe.gov).

PRESIDENT CLINTON has issued an executive order that would accelerate the use of alternative technologies to convert trees and other plants and agricultural waste (collectively called biomass) into energy and products. The goal is to triple the use of biomass as an energy source and as the raw material for products, such as plastics, by 2010. If achieved, annual carbon dioxide emissions could fall as much as 100 million metric tons from expected levels. To accelerate the use of biomass, the President created a permanent council consisting of the heads of the Energy Department, USDA, EPA, NSF, and other agencies to propose a biomass research program.

THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT’S NAT-IONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SER-VICE could be closed by next year. Since 1950, NTIS was the public’s primary source, for a fee, of government documents and reports. But now federal agencies and offices are posting their documents on the Internet and making them available at no cost. Proposed legislation will be sent to Congress for closing NTIS and for moving all of its paper, digital archives, and bibliographic databases to the Library of Congress.

DUPONT and MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY are forming a $35 million alliance for research on biotechnology-based materials. Funding will come from DuPont in return for a proposed option for royalty-bearing exclusive licenses under any patents that may issue on resulting inventions. The alliance will start Jan. 1, 2000, and will involve science, engineering, and business specialists at MIT. It is expected that research projects will lead to the development of processes and materials in such areas as bioelectronics, biosensors, and biomimetic and other materials.

SAUDI CHEVRON PETROCHEMICAL, a joint venture between Chevron and Saudi Industrial Venture Capital Group (Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia), is preparing to start up its benzene and cyclohexane units at Al Jubail. The units are part of a $650-million petrochemicals complex being built by Saudi Chevron Petrochemical. Chevron technology will be used to manufacture benzene from natural gas.

MAS CO. (Cairo) is entering chemicals manufacture with a propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene (PP) complex near Suez. The company has licensed Targor PP technology for the 150,000-m.t./year homopolymer PP plant. Krupp Uhde will build the dehydro plant, which will produce 160,000 m.t./year of propylene using the Phillips Star process.

ZIMMER has won an $88.9 million contract to build a polyester complex at Bandar Imam, Iran for National Petrochemical Corp. (Tehran) subsidiary Shabid Tondguyan Petrochemical. The PTA plant will use Dow Chemical’s Inca International technology, which it acquired in its acquisition of polyethylene terephthalate maker Inca from Enichem.

HITACHI CHEMICAL received nonexclusive rights to manufacture and sell emulsions for light-controlling films that use Research Frontiers’ (Woodbury, NY) suspended particle device (SPD) technology. Hitachi will also make and sell the films to other licensees of the technology, such as glazing firms. Research Frontiers recently granted a license to Dainippon Ink and Chemicals to make the emulsions. The company may consider licensing the technology to other companies. Research Frontiers will receive royalties only from makers of end-products, such as windows, rather than the films and emulsion makers.

NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION will license its first proprietary process technology for high-impact and crystal polystyrene to Taita Chemical (Taiwan). Nova’s partner for promoting its polystyrene process technology, Stone & Webster Canada Ltd., has also been commissioned to provide basic engineering for Taita’s new PS facility, which will be built in Taiwan.

CHIROSCIENCE GROUP (Cambridge, U.K.) has been granted an exclusive license to catalysts developed by chemists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and Boston College for asymmetric olefin metathesis reactions.

PENN SPECIALTY CHEMICALS (Radnor, PA) will build a tetrahydrofuran (THF) plant at Memphis, TN, using Lyondell’s butanediol (BDO)-based technology.

CHEVRON has launched a subsidiary company, Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) to invest in startup companies whose technologies could benefit its petroleum and chemicals businesses or take those businesses into new markets. Chevron says CTV will invest $60 million within three years through three or four venture capital funds. The company is focusing on information technology, biotechnology, and materials science – including micro-scale electrical and mechanical devices that could function as stress, corrosion, and vibration detectors within processing equipment.

CRYOTECH DEICING TECHNOLOGY and Proviron Industries have a licensing agreement allowing Proviron to produce and distribute Cryotech’s E36 liquid runway de-icer in Europe. E36 is Cryotech’s patented potassium acetate formulation that is certified to current US Federal Aviation Administration specifications.

EASTMAN CHEMICAL and Genencor (Rochester, NY), Eastman’s joint venture with Danisco, will commercialize their biocatalytic process for making ascorbic acid intermediate 2-ketogluconic acid from glucose.

DOW AGROSCIENCES and Israel Chemicals subsidiary Dead Sea Bromine (Beer Sheva) will jointly develop, register, produce, and market soil fumigants to replace methyl bromide. Developed countries have agreed to phase out methyl bromide by 2005 in accordance with the United Nations’ Montreal Protocol. Dow and Dead Sea plan to collaborate on the development of products based on the 1,3-dichoropropene and chloropicrin fumigants Dow produces.

DUPONT will invest $50 million and install technology at Saehan Industries’ Kyongsan, Korea spandex fiber plant under a recent joint venture agreement.

GENZYME MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY DIVISION signed an agreement with Monsanto Company to collaborate on a research project. Genzyme will conduct serial analysis of gene expression, or SAGE, to construct libraries from plant samples supplied by Monsanto. The Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute has licensed SAGE for research on plant growth and disease.

RHÔNE-POULENC has formed a plant genomics joint venture, Agrinomics, with Agritope (Portland, OR) to discover and commercialize genes for insect resistance, stress tolerance, and other traits. RP will provide $20 million in capital over five years. Agritope is contributing genomics technology.

OSI PHARMACEUTICALS has purchased Cadus Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s drug-discovery programs focused on G-protein coupled receptors for $1.5 million in cash. OSI will operate Cadus’s research facility in Tarrytown, NY. Also, OSI has licensed a gene transcription patent estate to Pharmacia & Upjohn.

BAYER has formed a research agreement with Lion Bioscience, a Heidelberg-based supplier of informatics systems for the life sciences. Bayer will invest up to $100 million. Lion will set up a bioinformatics center at Cambridge, Mass., to develop it genomics and information technologies for the identification and development of new drugs and diagnostic markers. After five years, Bayer will have the option of taking over the U.S. based center under a "spinning-in" arrangement.

ARQULE (Medford, MA), a combinatorial chemistry company, is collaborating with Pfizer to generate compound libraries for drug discovery. Pfizer will pay an initial $16 million in research funding and up to $117 million total over four-and-one-half years. Pfizer will have exclusive rights to any compounds developed and nonexclusive rights to certain chemistry technology from ArQule.

MOTOROLA has entered a strategic alliance with Clinical Micro Sensors to develop electronic and biochip technology. The deal includes an undisclosed equity investment by Motorola and CMS. CMS has developed a technology for detecting and analyzing DNA and other biomolecules.

ZENECA AGROCHEMICALS will make a $50-million equity investment in Maxygen (Redwood City, CA) and provide $200 million in R&D funding and licensing fees over the next five years. Maxygen specializes in DNA-shuffling technologies which rapidly mutate genes. Maxygen will use gene shuffling to produce modified versions of Zeneca’s oilseed, cereal, and vegetables.

DOW CHEMICAL and Diversa (San Diego) have signed an $18-million research and licensing agreement to expand the companies’ work in industrial biotechnology. Dow will use Diversa’s discovery and optimization technologies to develop enzymes to be used on a reaction-exclusive basis in several chemical processes.

RHÔNE-POULENC ANIMAL NUTRITION and Diversa signed a research agreement under which Diversa will develop enzymes that can be used for biotransformation as an alternative to chemical synthesis. RP will receive an option for exclusive rights to the targeted enzymes.

CELL PATHWAYS INC. (Horsham, PA) announced a collaboration with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer to conduct clinical trials of the therapeutic potential of Aptosyn in combination with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer’s Taxotere. Both drugs are used to fight various types of cancer. The companies will split research costs and retain all respective marketing rights.

ROBERTS PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORA-TION has purchased Bristol-Myers Squibb’s intellectual property rights to Agrylin.

ICN and its licensing partner, Schering-Plough, have received marketing approval from the European Union for their combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C: Rebetol (ribavirin) capsules in combination with interferon alfa-2B injection. Schering-Plough has exclusive rights to market oral ribavirin under a license from ICN, which markets the drug as Virazole in a variety of dosage forms.

ELI LILLY & CO. has made a $7.5 million equity payment to Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc. as part of the companies’ agreement governing the research, development and commercialization of ribozymes for treating the hepatitis C virus (HCV). RPI will receive an additional $1.7 million for initial fees and funding for research and clinical trials. The total value of the agreement is $38 million, contingent on meeting specified milestones. RPI’s lead ribozyme candidate is Heptazyme. It targets the region of the HCV’s RNA that is not expected to mutate.

GLAXO WELLCOME PLC has linked with Paratek Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize new antibiotics to meet the growing danger from bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. The deal includes equity investment, research support, milestone payments and royalties. The global market for antimicrobial drugs is worth roughly $23 billion

KING PHARMACEUTICALS INC. will acquire rights for the antibiotic Lorabid (loracarbef) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico from Eli Lilly & Co. for $90.5 million plus sales performance milestones that could bring the total value of the deal to $158 million. The deal includes Lilly’s U.S. rights, including new drug applications, investigational new drug applications, patents and associated U.S. copyright and trademark materials. Lilly will manufacture Lorabid for King. Lorabid has U.S. patent protection until 2005.

EISAI CO. LTD. (Japan), and Knoll AG, part of BASF Pharma, have agreed to jointly develop BASF Pharma’s new compound for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Once approved, Eisai Co. Ltd. will be licensed to sell the product in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

BAYER has acquired an exclusive global patent license from Suntory (Osaka) for an antibiotic intermediate containing the active ingredient fatopenem daloxate. The license gives Bayer the right to clinically develop and market the antibiotic.

MACROCHEM CORPORATION (Lexington, MA) is exploring licensing opportunities in personal care and cosmetics for its recently developed MacroDerm polymer technology. MacroChem is developing pharmaceutical products based on its patented Soft Enhancement of Percutaneous Absorption (SEPA) transdermal drug-delivery technology and is negotiating to license the technology to other companies. Unlike SEPA, which facilitates the absorption of active ingredients, such as alprostadil and ibuprofen, through the skin, MacroDerms inhibit the absorption of chemicals, suggesting a variety of applications including bug creams, sun blocks and other topical formulations.

ELAN CORP. (Ireland) has a technology transfer and license agreement with Merck & Co. Merck will obtain rights to Elan’s proprietary NanoCrystal technology, which transforms poorly water-soluble medicines into nanometer-sized particles that can be incorporated into oral, injectable, aerosol, and topical formulations. Elan will receive up to $30 million in pre-commercialization payments, milestone fees, and royalties on sales of products formulated using the technology.

SMITHKLINE BEECHAM (Philadelphia) and SkyePharma P.L.C. have entered into an agreement to develop a once-a-day version of SmithKline’s anti-Parkinson’s drug, Requip, using SkyePharma’s oral-delivery technology. The new formulation is expected to provide a simplified regime for patients on Requip.

CHIROSCIENCE GROUP PLC has an exclusive licensing agreement with Purdue Pharma LP for Chirocaine (levobupivacaine), a long-acting local anesthetic. Purdue will market the drug in the U.S., with the companies splitting the profit 50-50. Chiroscience has signed a licensing agreement with Abbott Laboratories under which Abbott will exclusively market Chirocaine worldwide, excluding the U.S. and Japan.

QUANTUM DOT CORP. – a start-up firm in Palo Alto, Calif. – has raised $7.5 million from venture-capital investors. The company also has obtained exclusive licenses to technology for luminescent nanoparticles from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Melbourne (Australia). Under the licenses, Quantum has exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, market, and commercialize biological applications of the particles.

LSI LOGIC CORP. (Milpitas, CA) and Hana Technologies Ltd. (San Jose) say that Hana is licensing LSI Logic’s enhanced plastic ball grid array (EPBGA) and chip-scale package (CSP) technologies.

THREE-FIVE SYSTEMS INC. is purchasing National Semiconductor’s microdisplay assets for a cash payment and a warrant to purchase Three-Five’s common stock. The Tempe, Ariz.-based display company also said that it is licensing all the technology and intellectual property of National’s Light Valve Business Unit. A spokesperson for Santa Clara, Calif.-based National said that acquisition totaled less than $10 million.

TERAYON COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS INC. (Santa Clara, CA) has agreed to acquire Imedia Corp., (San Francisco), in a stock transaction valued at $10 million plus transaction costs. The acquisition gives Terayon access to Imedia’s routing and re-multiplexing systems for digital video. This technology allows cable operators to select and customize program lineups for viewer preferences. The agreement also furthers Terayon’s goal to have a broadband system portfolio to support high-speed delivery of data voice and video-over cable technology.

COVAD COMMUNICATIONS has an agreement with GST Communications Inc. to develop voice over DSL services using asynchronous transfer mode transport technology.

THE SECURE DIGITAL MUSIC INITIATIVE (SDMI) has selected an audio watermarking technology that will be integrated into the next generation of portable digital Internet music devices, including MP3 players. The watermarking technology, developed by ARIS Technologies Inc., is waiting for final approval of a definitive licensing agreement by the SDMI committee. The ARIS watermarking technology prevents players from playing music that is SDMI compatible if it has not been upgraded with the Phase II technology.

INTEGRATED DEVICE TECHNOLOGY INC. (IDT) and Intel Corp. have signed a cross-licensing agreement that will enable both companies to utilize each other’s patented intellectual property. Intel will pay $20.5 million in cash to IDT for the licenses. There are certain exceptions to the agreement and the licensing of both companies’ technologies. However, IDT and Intel declined to comment as to what these exceptions might be.

ROHM CO. LTD. will take out a worldwide royalty-bearing license from International Rectifier Corp. for its power MOSFET/IGBT patents, ending a legal dispute. Rohm will pay IR an undisclosed sum as well as ongoing royalties.

MOSAID TECHNOLOGIES INC. (Ottawa) has entered into a worldwide, nonexclusive patent cross-licensing agreement with NEC Ltd. As agreed, NEC obtains a license to MOSAID’s patent portfolio for production of its semiconductor products worldwide. In return, MOSAID obtains a license to NEC’s patents for use in its future semiconductor products.

NINTENDO CO. LTD. has chosen MoSys Inc.’s 1T SRAM technology for its next-generation Nintendo home game console in order to embed large high-performance memories directly onto the system’s graphics chip, being developed by ArtX Inc. (Palo Alto, CA).

PHILIPS SEMICONDUCTORS announced a licensing deal to use Mentor Graphics Corp.’s Inventra Virtual Library soft cores to support its CoReUse Program. The Mentor Graphics IP Division also will serve as Phillips Semiconductors’ supplier of semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) cores.

SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY INC. has linked with Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Tokyo) in a multifaceted, second-source, technology licensing, joint development and wafer foundry agreement. Under the OEM accord, Sanyo will serve as an alternate source for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SST’s flash memory product portfolio, and will market the devices under the Sanyo brand name. Also, the companies extended their licensing agreement, wherein Sanyo gains access to SST’s SuperFlash technology for use in embedded flash products manufactured on Sanyo’s 0.25-micronprocess.

November 15-16, 1999

Westin River North, Chicago, IL

Sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute, this course is designed to teach you how to draft effective license agreements. Different kinds of licensing agreements and the business and legal issues related to them are covered

Contact: Practicing Law Institute; Tel: 800-260-4PLI or e-mail info @pli.edu.:

November 15-16, 1999

Sutton Place Hotel, Chicago, IL

This conference is designed to provide information on how to build, expand and manage your intellectual property profile. You will learn how to develop a corporate intellectual property strategy. The conference covers the latest intellectual property management developments and techniques.

Contact: Insight Information, 163 Third Avenue, Ste. 377, New York, NY 10003, Tel: 416-777-2020 or 1-888-777-1707 Fax: 416-777-1292

December 6-9, 1999

Boca Raton, FL

This 4-day course will feature practical development and use of licensing in and out strategies. Continuing education credits will be awarded.

Contact: Center for Professional Advancement, P.O. Box 964, East Brunswick, NJ 08816

Tel: 732-613-4335

"Strategic Alliances in the New Millennium"

May 10-13, 2000

Marriott Marquis

New York, NY

This millennium meeting will have in-depth coverages by the chemical and polymer sector, biotechnology sector, health care industry sector and the electronics and communications sectors.

Contact: Dr. David Braunstein, Tel: 610-647-8890, or LES Headquarters,Tel: 703-836-3106

Technology Licensing
Published by Insight Press

572 pages $196.00

This comprehensive conference material covers a broad range of topics related to achieving optimum results in technology licensing transactions, as well as providing solutions and responses to challenges.

Contact Insight Press, 163 Thilo Ave., Suite 377, New York, NY 10003, Tel: 416-777-2020 or 1-888-777-1707, Fax: 416-777-1292

Successful Pharmaceutical Licensing $720.00

Written by Paul Ransom, Richard Binnes, Bryan Driscoll, and Sharon Finch

Published by Financial Times Pharmaceuticals

Successful pharmaceutical licensing is a com-prehensive guide to the business development processes involved in assessing product opportunities, negotiating deals and implementing crucial partnerships within the pharmaceutical industry,

Contact: FT Pharmaceuticals, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London, WIP 9LL, England, Tel: +44(0) 171-896-2409, Fax: +44 (0) 171-896-2449