SYDNEY, Oct. 4--AsiaNet/InfoQuest STARPHARMA'S GRANT... MELBOURNE: Starpharma's VivaGel, a vaginal microbicide against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), received an award of $US20.3 million development funding by the US-based National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). www.starpharma.com MICREL INC... SAN JOSE, Calif: Micrel, Inc. announced that it has rolled out four new Ethernet IC solutions. www.micrel.com ATRIUM MEDICAL... HUDSON, N.H: Atrium Medical Corporation and Isotechnika Inc. jointly announced the signing of an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for the use of TAFA93 and ISA247 specifically with drug eluting devices for the local, non-systemic treatment of vascular and cardiovascular disorders, soft tissue repair, and a variety of other uses related to Atrium's implantable products. www.atriummed.com www.isotechnika.com SCIENTISTS' MEET... BONN: From 4 to 7 October distinguished Japanese and German scientists will meet in Tokyo and Kyoto to discuss fields of innovation like bionics, robotics, nanotechnology and technologies for an aging society. http://tokyo.daad.de/german/de_calendar.htm ADVANCED ANALOGIC... SUNNYVALE, Calif: Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorporated (AnalogicTech), a developer of power management semiconductors for mobile consumer electronic devices, introduced the AAT3175, a low noise, high frequency, current mode charge pump for white LED flash applications. www.analogictech.com PHOTO SHOP... SAN JOSE, Calif: Spy Media announced today the launch of www.spymedia.com, the first news photo marketplace to buy and sell news photos. www.spymedia.com STARTECH ENVIRONMENTAL... WILTON, Conn: Startech Environmental Corporation, a fully reporting company, announced the appointment of GlobalTech Environmental Incorporated of Central, Hong Kong, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Changzhou in China as its exclusive distributor for the Peoples Republic of China. www.startech.net VERITY INC... SUNNYVALE, Calif: Verity Inc., a provider of enterprise search software that enables organizations to discover, analyze and process all the digital information within their enterprises, announced that its Verity K2 Enterprise (K2E) advanced search, classification and recommendation software, and Verity Federator, a universal platform that permits simultaneous secure search and access to multiple sites, have been selected by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC). www.verity.com W.P. STEWART... HAMILTON: W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. announced that it has declared a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.30 per common share. The dividend is payable on 28 October 2005 to shareholders of record as of 14 October 2005. www.wpstewart.com STRATAGOLD VENTURE... VANCOUVER: StrataGold Corporation has entered into a joint venture agreement with Newmont Overseas Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corporation, in respect to StrataGold's Barama Reconnaissance Permit in Guyana. www.stratagold.com MICROSOFT ACADEMY... REDMOND, Wash: Microsoft Corp announced a host of new features, including improved curriculum delivery, an internship programme and discounts on certification exams, through the Microsoft IT Academy Programme, the global information technology training program for academic institutions to help their faculty and students achieve certification in Microsoft technologies. www.microsoftitacademy.com ITC JUDGMENT... SUNNYVALE, Calif: Judge Robert L. Barton, Jr. of the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued his Initial Determination regarding MediaTek's retaliatory patent infringement countersuit against Zoran in the ITC. ALCAN INC... SIERRE: Alcan Inc. announced that it has entered into preliminary discussions with a Valais-based consortium lead by Albert Bass over the potential sale of its Steg, Switzerland aluminum smelter. LIFE SCIENCES... PITTSBURGH, Pa: The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), a partnership to put the region's life sciences industry on a fast track for growth, announced that Australian firm BTF - Precise Microbiology is leasing office space in the PLSG Incubator. www.plsg.com FOX TECHNOLOGIES... PALO ALTO, Calif: Fox Technologies announced a partnership with Trident Infotech Services to deliver information security and compliance solutions for Indian-based organizations looking to meet the strict regulatory requirements of the United States and Europe. www.foxt.com FIRETIDE INC... LOS GATOS, Calif: Firetide, Inc. announced HotView Pro Mesh Management Software for service providers and large enterprises, offering mesh scalability up to 1,000 nodes and the ability to deploy and manage multiple mesh environments. www.firetide.com CROWN CASTLE... HOUSTON: Crown Castle International Corp. announced it has commenced an evaluation of strategic alternatives for its investment in Crown Castle Australia, which may directly or indirectly include a leveraged recapitalization or a sale of part or all of its interests in a transaction involving an Australian initial public offering or a private sale. www.crowncastle.com BENITEC LTD... MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif: Benitec Ltd., a developer of RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics, announced that the lawsuit between Benitec and Nucleonics, Inc. previously pending in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has been dismissed without prejudice to future rights. www.benitec.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)