NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Ocimum Biosolutions, doing business as Gene Logic, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and is seeking a buyer for its assets.

The US subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 in mid-October, and according to Jeffrey Carbino, a lawyer representing Ocimum in its bankruptcy proceedings, an auction of substantially all of the assets of Ocimum/Gene Logic, is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2012, with a Jan. 4 deadline for submitted bids. On Jan. 10, a sale hearing is scheduled in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

A study of whether embryonic stem cells could cure spinal-cord injury suffered from high costs, dim prospects.

Biotechnology firm Geron said last night that it would discontinue its stem-cell research program and halt a pioneering clinical study in people with spinal-cord injury.

GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) has taken some bold steps to reconfigure its R&D operations, tackling some of the productivity issues that have plagued Big Pharma groups. Over the next year, the London-based drug giant has many big Phase III events in store that could make its pipeline the envy of the industry.

Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. (“Newron”), a research and development company focused on novel CNS and pain therapies, announced today that Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany, is returning global rights to safinamide to Newron effective in 180 days. The decision by Merck Serono is due to strategic considerations and re-prioritization of its R&D pipeline, and is not based on any new efficacy or safety findings with safinamide.

Takeda president Yasuchika Hasegawa said that following its acquisition of Nycomed, the drugmaker has no near-term plans for another large-scale merger and acquisition, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. "We would like to focus on integration for the next year or two. We don't have the capacity for big acquisitions, but maybe small ones," he indicated.