Mall owner given more time: Troubled shopping mall owner General Growth Properties says lenders have waived default on a $2.58 billion credit agreement until the end of the year, allowing the company some time to regain its financial footing. But its Rouse Company unit extended the expiration date on a request for forbearance on another more than $2 billion worth of debt after it failed to convince enough of its bondholders to give it more breathing room. General Growth, which owns the Mall of Louisiana, says it has received enough consents from lenders under its 2006 corporate credit agreement, which includes a $1.99 billion term loan and $590 million revolving credit facility, to extend an agreement to delay foreclosure currently in place through the end of 2009.
Treating chronic inflammation: Researchers at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport have licensed their work in treating chronic inflammatory diseases and organ rejection to Aphios Corp. Under the intellectual property agreement, Aphios will use the nanoformulations of the drug bryostatin-1 to treat chronic inflammation, organ preservation and prevent transplantation rejection. Dr. J. Steve Alexander, the lead scientist at LSU Health Center for the research, says the drug could be used to treat numerous conditions, including stroke, inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis.
Top of the heart: Debra Lockwood of Baton Rouge has been named chairwoman-elect of the American Heart Association. Lockwood, executive president and CFO of the Provident Group, has been a member of the national board of directors for the AHA since 2007. She has served as an association volunteer for more than 10 years. Lockwood, who is currently serving as secretary-treasurer, becomes chairwoman-elect on July 1.
