Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have received approval from Canadian regulators to market the Relistor constipation drug that was developed by the companies under a three-year partnership.

The approval of Relistor by Health Canada, the Canadian drug regulatory agency, marked the first approval of the medication in any country.

“Progenics is proud to share this achievement with the Wyeth team, who have been instrumental in advancing this important new product to market,” said Paul J. Maddon, chief executive officer at Progenics.

Relistor, an injectable drug designed to treat constipation caused by painkillers, is a key product for Progenics, a biotechnology company based in Eastview. Shares of Progenics surged more than 11 percent in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the news of the Canadian approval.

“We now await a decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of April on Relistor,” Maddon said. “In addition, we and Wyeth continue to work with the European and Australian regulatory authorities to expand the availability of Relistor.”

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., said that it expects that Relistor will be launched and available to Canadian patients in Canada in about 60 days. Wyeth and Progenics partnered in 2005 to jointly develop and sell the medication.

Financial-planner Beth Blecker, who hosts a personal-finance program on Internet-based RocklandWorldRadio.com, hopes to expand the reach of her program to deaf and hearing impaired consumers.

Beginning Tuesday, Blecker’s “Taking Control” program, which airs at noon, will utilize a sign-language interpreter to communicate with viewers who can’t hear or have difficulty hearing.

“It’s our goal to provide vital financial information for members of a wide-ranging audience,” said Blecker, chief executive at Nanuet-based Eastern Planning Inc.

For those who aren’t able to listen at the time of broacast, Tuesday’s “Taking Control” program, like all shows broadcast on RocklandWorldRadio.com, will be archived for future listening or viewing.

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., a generic drug manufacturer with major operations in Rockland County, said that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to launch a new generic product. The medication is a generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s Mirapex tablets that treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, said that it has launched its Comcast Digital Voice home telephone service in 10 communities in the Carmel area.

Customers in those areas also can sign up for Comcast’s “Triple Play� bundle of digital cable, high-speed Internet and digital voice products, the company said. Cost of Triple Play is $33 each a month for one year when they subscribe to all three services. Triple Play is available to residents of Beekman, Brewster, Carmel, Kent, Patterson, Town of Pawling, Village of Pawling, Putnam Valley, Somers and Southeast, according to Comcast.

Sheraton announced that it is rolling out a new line of bath amenities at its hotel rooms in North America. The new line, developed in a partnership with the spa company Bliss, features fresh Mandarin and mint-scented shampoo, conditioner, soap and body lotion. The rooms will also include coffee and teas from Starbucks. Sheraton, which has 408 hotels in 75 countries, is part of White Plains-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

The Web site Full Frontal Scrutiny launched yesterday as a joint venture between Yonkers-based Consumer Reports and the Center for Media and Democracy in Madison, Wis.
“The site seeks to shine a light on front groups — organizations that state a particular agenda, while hiding or obscuring their identity, membership or sponsorship, or all three,� read a news release.
The Web address for the site is www.frontgroups.org. The site will include an investigation of front group activity on the online site Wikipedia, including a guide to help consumers get the most out of that site, according to Consumer Reports. The site will also include a history of front groups. Full Frontal Scrutiny will also publish selected content from Consumer Reports’ WebWatch site and from the center’s SourceWatch database.

Home buyers can pull up property listings on their cell phones, personal digital assistants and other mobile devices under a new service introduced by Prudential Rand Realty Inc.

The new service, known as RandMobile.com, will provide remote access to 100,000 detailed property listings from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service and the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service.

“We’ve made property searching easier than ever before, allowing consumers to save time and look for potential homes during their commutes to and from work, on their lunch hour, on the bus, train or subway-virtually anywhere and at any time,â€? said Matt Rand, the managing partner of Prudential Rand Realty.

Prudential Rand, founded in 1984, operates 20 offices serving Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties.

Features of the service include:
•A property search that allows users to search thousands of listings by street name. Users can also search by a city/town, county, minimum price, maximum price and number of bedrooms.
•Multiple photos for every property.
•Agent contact information.
•Access to Rand Mortgage, allowing users to view current mortgage rates and fill out a mortgage application.

Barr Laboratories Inc., the Pomona-based generic-drug unit of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., has received regulatory approval to begin selling a generic version of Kytril, a brand-name drug used to treat nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatments.

Barr said it received final approval from the Food and Drug Administration following the expiration of the drug’s patent Friday.

Kytril, manufactured by Roche Laboratories Inc., had annual sales of $88 million ending October, based on industry data.

Barr plans to launch its generic product shortly, it said.

It can fix a divot on a golf course, measure the tread left on a tire and file your nails. You can use it to pull a nail out of a board, cut a cigar or pick your teeth.

It’s the Giant Collector’s Knife, an innovation marketed by Wenger, the maker of the Swiss Army Knife that has its North American headquarters in Orangeburg.

The folks at the Guinness Book of World Records liked the product enough to name it the world’s most multi-functional penknife. The publishers of the famed record book even created a new category for the nine-inch-wide, three-pound knife.

Dennis Piretra, director of marketing for the Orangeburg operations, acknowledged the product has some bulkiness to it.

“Thi is not exactly going to win any awards for lightest, smallest or most efficient tools with which to go backpacking,� he said in a statement released by the company. “It is, however, getting a lot of attention and is the best platform for showcasing our product capabilities.�

The innovation, manufactured in Delemont, Switzerland, has 87 implements and carries a retail price of $1,200.

The implements, which have at least 141 uses, include a laser pointer, a flashlight, seven blades, wrenches and a fish scaler. There’s a nail cleaner, tweezers and a number of screwdrivers.

Kraft Foods Inc. is pushing ahead with a campaign to remake its iconic Maxwell House brand by reformulating the coffee, changing the packaging and embarking on a new advertising campaign.
The changes affect one of the key brands that Kraft manages at its beverage unit in Tarrytown.

The advertising campaign, under the theme, “It’s A New Morning. Brew Some Good,� includes national television spots and print advertisements, product sampling at major retailers and online promotions at www.brewsomegood.com.

In addition, Kraft said that its representatives will give away nearly 1 million cups of hot coffee at the Palisades Center in West Nyack and 14 other malls nationally through Sunday in a three-day promotion over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

The ad campaign “furthers Kraft’s commitment to contemporize even our most iconic brands for a new generation of consumers,� said Lorraine Hansen, senior vice president and general manager of coffee at Kraft. “This is by far our best coffee ever. For years, Maxwell House has been an important part of America’s homes and communities.�

Kraft’s attempt to remake Maxwell House comes several months after the billionaire investor Nelson Peltz of Mount Kisco advocated that Kraft pump up a lackluster stock price by selling the Maxwell House and Post cereal business to focus on stronger brands. On Nov. 15, Kraft announced the $2.6 billion sale of Post to Ralcorp Holdings Inc., a major player in the market for private-label cereals and baked goods. Kraft managed Post from Tarrytown as recently as 2004 but the brand has since been moved to the company’s snacks and cereals unit in East Hanover, N.J.

In a key change at Maxwell House, Kraft said it will now offer a range of coffees made completely from Arabica beans that “are known for their superior quality, rich aroma and distinctive taste.�

The reformulated coffee is scheduled to be available in stores nationally this fall. The largest sizes also will include revamped packaging with a flavor-lock lid and a handle that is easier to use.

Kraft employs about 600 workers in Tarrytown. Most work in research and development and the beverage unit that also oversee such brands as Maxwell House, Country Time, Kool-Aid and Crystal Light.

In the promotion this weekend, two Maxwell House coffee kiosks will offer samples of hot coffee in the Palisades Center this morning and Sunday morning until about noon. The kiosks will be in front of The Cheesecake Factory and Lord & Taylor on the first floor of the mall.

Nutrition 21 Inc., a Purchase-based maker of nutritional supplements, is introducing new nutritional supplement called Core4Life Advanced Memory Formula.

The supplement combines chromium picolinate, phosphatidylserine and DHA, ingredients Nutrition 21 says play an important role in helping improve memory and maintain brain health.

Chappaqua-based Reader’s Digest Association and its online recipe site, Allrecipes.com, have created the Food Advertising Network RDA. The network is designed to serve small and medium-sized companies that want to advertise in the online food category. The network includes the food sites Allrecipes.com, TasteOfHome.com, RachaelRayMag.com and ChefsCatalog.com. Allrecipes.com has 15 million annual visitors. The new network features a technology called AdWizardRDA, a self-serve advertising service. Companies can create their own display ads by selecting from ready-made templates or uploading their own creative content. AdWizard allows advertisers to target ads geographically, which is desirable for regional brands that only sell their products in a few areas of the country.

Fortunoff has partnered with a maker of organic cotton clothing and other products to begin selling 100 percent organic bedding, towels and lounge wear.

The “green� shop opened today at Fortunoff’s White Plains store as well as it Westbury, Long Island, shop, Fortunoff said.

Products are available on the retailer’s Web site (www.fortunoff.com).

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported today that its Pomona-based Barr Laboratories Inc. subsidiary was granted tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

The tentative OK doesn’t allow Barr to begin marketing the drug. Rather, it is a signal by the FDA that Barr’s generic version of Mirapex “satisfies the substantive requirements for approval.�

Barr said it filed an application with the FDA in 2005 to begin selling a generic version of Mirapex tablets, setting in motion a lawsuit brought by the brand-name drug’s manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Barr said a trial was scheduled for Nov. 5, but a judicial vacancy leaves the case’s start date in limbo.

Mirapex had annual sales of about $324 million for the year ending August, based on industry sales data, Barr said.

Comcast Corp. has added 36 new networks to its channels in the Carmel area, including nine high-definition channels, the company announced. The new HD channels, which are accessible to digital cable customers with an HD set-top box, include Starz, TNT, MOJO, A&E, Food, National Geographic, HGTV, ESPN2 and MHD. The new offerings also include five international networks and 13 Spanish-speaking networks, which are available for an extra fee. Comcast, which provides cable, entertainment and communications products and services nationwide, has 24.1 million cable customers, 12.4 million high-speed Internet customers and 3.5 million voice customers, the company said.

Sierra Mist will bring back its Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash! drink for the second season in a row, this time in a diet version as well, Purchase-based Pepsi-Cola North America announced today. The holiday-inspired drink has a splash of cranberry added to the original lemon-lime flavor of the carbonated beverage. It will be available through the holiday starting this month. For more information, visit www.sierramist.com.

EpiCept Corp. reports it has completed initial clinical trials for a drug to treat patients with certain types of cancer.

EpiCept said the trial, which began in December at three U.S. cancer centers, involved 17 patients with a variety of different types of cancer, including melanoma, prostate, lung, breast, colon, and pancreatic.

The Eastview-based pharmaceutical company said the Phase I trial met all of the company’s objectives, including determining the maximum effective dose of the drug, known as EPC2407.

A second Phase I trial is expected to begin early next year. The company is also planning tests to determine to what degree EPC2407 can help other cancer drugs, such as Cisplatin, Sutent and Avastin, be more effective. That trial is also expected to start early next year, EpiCept said.

MasterCard Worldwide announced today that its MasterCard PayPass will be accepted at all PETCO stores. MasterCard, based in Purchase, has introduced the PayPass with a variety of retailers. To pay, customers just tap their PayPass-enabled card or device on the PayPass reader. PETCO will continue to accept traditional payment cards.

Mary Ann Liebert Inc., a publisher of biotechnology journals, said today it has started a biotech video channel hosted on its Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Web site (www.genengnews.com) .

“We have launched the video component to complement our print and online editions,” said John Sterling, the publication’s editor-in-chief.

The first video to run on GEN’s biotech video channel is a corporate-overview video about GE Healthcare Life Sciences.

The Piscataway, N.J.,-based unit of General Electric Co. was chosen because its business is similar in breadth to GEN’s coverage and is relevant to the Web site’s audience, the New Rochelle-based company said.

Nearly 20 companies in the Lower Hudson Valley are among thousands recognized by Inc. magazine in its first Inc. 5000 list, a compilation of the nation’s fastest-growing private businesses.

Topping the rankings in the region at No. 680 was Partnership Employment and Perennial Resources International, a provider of temporary and executive personnel for the financial services, real estate and manufacturing sectors. The Valhalla company has 35 employees and had revenues last year of $10 million.

In recognizing Partnership Employment, Inc. magazine said the company was noteworthy for its ability to not only help human-resource departments find workers but also represent HR execs when they themselves are looking for work.

Among the 17 other Lower Hudson Valley businesses on the list were QueBit Consulting, Scarsdale; JMC Holdings, Tuckahoe; Pricequotes.com, Pomona; and C.W. Brown, Thornwood.

Go to www.inc.com/inc5000 for the complete list.