Business Roundup

Avecia Biotechnology has won a $3.9 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases to develop the next generation of its anthrax vaccine, Thraxine. The goal is to improve the temperature stability of the vaccine.

BOC Edwards and its Taiwanese partner are spending $30 million to add nitrogen capacity and pipelines at Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park. BOC, which already has nine nitrogen plants in Hsinchu, says the addition will feature its largest semiconductor-grade nitrogen generator.

PharmAthene and SIGA Technologies have agreed to merge to create a biodefense products company. The combined business, which will operate as PharmAthene, says it will target three of the top five biodefense priorities identified under Project BioShield.

BASF has completed the acquisition of Engelhard. As a result, Engelhard is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF, and its shares no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Merck's Gardasil, a recombinant vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, has been approved by FDA. The vaccine, the first of its kind, is designed to prevent cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus, which causes up to 70% of cervical cancers.