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                                                                   Exhibit 10.16

                                LICENSE AGREEMENT

     This Agreement made this 27th day of December, 1995 between MEDICHEM
RESEARCH, INC., 12305 So. New Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439 (hereinafter
'MEDICHEM') of the one part and the GOVERNMENT OF SARAWAK, Tingkat 17, Wisma
Bapa Malaysia, Petra Jaya 93502 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia (hereinafter
'SARAWAK') of the other part.

     WHEREAS there exists An Agreement between the United States Government
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and SARAWAK related to Calanolide compounds

     WHEREAS MEDICHEM is the NIH licensee under U.S. Patent Application Serial
Nos. 07/861,249 and 08/065,618; and Licence is granted by NIH subject to
MEDICHEM entering into this Agreement with SARAWAK

     WHEREAS MEDICHEM wishes to obtain an exclusive license for SARAWAK's entire
right, title, and interest relating to the said Calanolide compounds in the
Agreement with NIH;

     SARAWAK and MEDICHEM agree as follows:

                              ARTICLE I DEFINITION

     SARAWAK and MEDICHEM mutually agree and declare as follows:

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     "LICENSED PRODUCT(S)" means tangible materials which, in the course of
manufacture, use, or sale would, in the absence of this Agreement, infringe one
or more claims of NIH Licensed Patent Rights that have not been held invalid or
unenforceable by an unappealed or unappealable judgment of a court of competent
jurisdiction and where applicable, includes Licensed Processes.

     "LICENSED PROCESS(ES)" means processes which, in the course of being
practiced would, in the absence of this Agreement, infringe one or more claims
of the Licensed Patent Rights that have not been held invalid or unenforceable
by an unappealed or unappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

     "NET SALES" means the total gross receipts for sales of Licensed Products
or practice of Licensed Processes by or on behalf of Licensee or its
sublicensees, and from leasing, renting, or otherwise making Licensed Products
available to others without sale or other dispositions, whether invoiced or not,
less returns and allowances actually granted in the normal course of trading,
packing costs, insurance costs, freight out, taxes or excise duties imposed on
the transaction (if separately invoiced), and wholesale and cash discounts in
amounts customary in the trade. No deductions shall be made for commissions paid
to individuals, whether they be with independent sales agencies or regularly
employed by Licensee, or sublicensees, and on its payroll, or for the cost of
collections.

     "FIRST COMMERCIAL SALE" means the initial transfer by or on behalf of
Licensee or its sublicensees of Licensed Products or the initial practice of a
Licensed Process by or on behalf

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of Licensee or its sublicensees in exchange for cash or some equivalent to which
value can be assigned for the purpose of determining Net Sales.

EAST ASIA REGION

<Table>
        <S>                         <C>
        China                       Laos
        Korea                       Malaysia
        Japan                       Singapore
        Hong Kong                   The Philippines
        Macau                       Brunei
        Taiwan                      Indonesia
        Myanmar (Burma)             Papua New Guinea
        Thailand                    Cambodia
        Vietnam
</Table>

Licensed Territory - Worldwide

                            ARTICLE II LICENSE GRANT

     SARAWAK hereby agrees to the grant of License by NIH to MEDICHEM to make,
have made, use and sell License Product in the Licensed Territory under any
right, title or interest that SARAWAK may have related to the Licensed Product.
MEDICHEM shall, subject to the conditions stipulated in this Agreement, have the
right to grant sublicences.

                              ARTICLE III PAYMENTS

     MEDICHEM agrees to pay to SARAWAK a noncreditable, nonrefundable license
issue royalty for the manufacturing and sale of Licensed Products in the amount
of SIXTEEN THOUSAND

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SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN U.S. DOLLARS (US$16,667.00) according to the
following payment schedule:

     A.   FIVE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS (US$5,000.00) within thirty (30) days from
     the Effective Date of this Agreement; and

     B.   ELEVEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN U.S. DOLLARS
     (US$11,667.00) within one (1) year from the Effective Date.

     MEDICHEM agrees to pay to SARAWAK a nonrefundable minimum annual royalty
according to the following schedule:

     A.   ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN U.S. DOLLARS (US$1,667.00)
     beginning in 1996.

     B.   THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE U.S. DOLLARS
     (US$3,333.00) for 1998 and subsequent years.

MEDICHEM agrees to pay SARAWAK earned royalties on Net Sales as follows:-

ONE AND ONE- THIRD PERCENT (1.33%) of Net Sales by Licensee or an Affiliate of
Licensee of all Licensed Products manufactured or sold in the Licensed
Territory;

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except the royalty in the East Asia Region shall be two percent (2%) of Net
Sales.

MEDICHEM agrees to pay SARAWAK Sublicensing Royalties as follows:

ONE AND ONE-THIRD PERCENT (1.33% of Net Sales by Sublicensee, or an Affiliate of
Sublicensee of all Licensed Products manufactured and sold in the Licensed
Territory (except for the East Asia Region, the royalties rate shall be two per
cent (2.0%) of Net Sales) PLUS Six and Two-Thirds percent (6.6%) of the value of
any consideration received or receivable by MEDICHEM in granting the sublicense.

MEDICHEM agrees to pay SARAWAK benchmark royalties as follows:

A.   EIGHT THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE U.S. DOLLARS (US$8,333.00)
upon filing of an IND application in the United States; and

B.   SIXTEEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN U.S. DOLLARS (US$16,667.00)
upon completion of Phase I and initiation of Phase II clinical trials; and

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     C.   THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE U.S. DOLLARS
     (US$33,333.00) upon completion of Phase II and initiation of Phase III
     clinical trials; and

     D.   SIXTY-SIX THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN U.S. DOLLARS
     (US$66,667.00) upon filing of a NDA application or equivalent in the United
     States, Europe or Japan.

     One Hundred percent (100%) of such benchmark royalty payments actually made
     to SARAWAK may be credited against earned royalties due above.

     MEDICHEM agrees with SARAWAK that the computation of Net Sales shall be
based on the sale price of the Licensed Products published from time to time by
MEDICHEM as the selling price of the Licnesed Products to MEDICHEM's Licensed or
Sub-Licencees, and the published Sale Price shall be made available to SARAWAK
upon request by the latter.

                       ARTICLE IV CONTINUATION OF PAYMENT

     Royalty payments hereunder shall be made in U.S. dollars within thirty days
from the end of each calendar year throughout the period of validity of this
Agreement. The payment shall be accompanied with a statement of accounts duly
certified by auditors of MEDICHEM sufficient to determine how the royalty
payment was determined or assessed.

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     SARAWAK shall have the right to inspect and audit MEDICHEM's accounting,
sales and other records to the extent necessary to determine or assess royalties
due hereunder. SARAWAK shall pay the expenses of any such inspection of audits.

                         ARTICLE V TERM AND TERMINATION

     1.   TERM. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Agreement
shall terminate with the expiration of the period of validity of NIH patent
covering Licensed Product.

     2.   TERMINATION. MEDICHEM may terminate this Agreement during the term of
the license granted for any reason by giving SARAWAK ninety (90) days prior
written notice, in which case the license granted pursuant to Article II shall
also terminate. MEDICHEM agrees on termination to discontinue use, manufacture,
and sale of Licensed Product for which MEDICHEM was obligated to pay just prior
to such termination and account for the stocks of any products manufactured from
the Licensed Products. Such stocks shall be sold or disposed of under the
supervision of or with the agreement of SARAWAK and the proceeds derived
therefrom, after deducting the costs of such sale, be shared by MEDICHEM and
SARAWAK equally.

     3.   OBLIGATIONS UPON TERMINATION. MEDICHEM shall be liable for all royalty
payments due to SARAWAK during the ninety (90) days notice period.

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     4.   TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT. Either party may terminate this Agreement on
written notice to the other party, effective immediately, if any of the
following events of default should occur and not be cured within sixty (60) days
after written notice from the Notifying party describing the default:

          (i) the material failure of the notified party to meet its obligations
hereunder; or

          (ii) the filing by or against SARAWAK or MEDICHEM of a petition under
any bankruptcy or insolvency law, an assignment for the benefit of MEDICHEM's
creditors or the appointment of a receiver for substantially all of MEDICHEM's
property. Such termination shall be without prejudice to any rights or remedies
which the non-defaulting party hitherto may have against the party in default,
for any breach of this Agreement.

               ARTICLE VI WARRANTIES; DISCLAIMERS; INDEMNIFICATION

     1.   Each party represents and warrants to the other party that it has no
pre-existing contractual or other obligations to any third party which preclude
it from entering into this Agreement and meeting its obligations hereunder, or
which conflict with any provision of this Agreement.

     2.   Each party shall have the status of an independent contractor without
the authority legally to bind the other party, its officers, directors or
employees. This Agreement shall not

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be deemed to have created any partnership between the parties hereto in relation
to any of the matters contained in this Agrement.

                     ARTICLE VII TRAINING SARAWAK PERSONNEL

     MEDICHEM agrees to train, or to provide scientific training for, two (2)
SARAWAK designated scientists in technology related to the synthesis of
Calanolide compounds at MEDICHEM's Lemont, Illinois facilities for up to one
year. SARAWAK will pay for all transportation, compensation and living expenses
for such scientists. It is acceptable to MEDICHEM if the SARAWAK scientists
participate in clinical trials, if this participation is approved by the
institution where the clinical trials are carried out.

                           ARTICLE VIII MISCELLANEOUS

     1.   GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be deemed made in and construed in
accordance with the law of England.

     2.   ACTIONS SURVIVE. All causes of action accruing to either party under
this Agreement shall survive termination for any reason, as shall those
provisions which expressly state such survival unless such survival is
conditional and the requisite conditions(s) has been fulfilled prior to or on
such termination.

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     3.   ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement constitutes the only and entire
understanding between the parties concerning its subject matter.

     4.   AMENDMENTS. This Agreement may be amended or modified only in writing
signed by both parties.

     5.   ARBITRATION. All disputes which arise out of this Agreement shall be
settled by arbitration in accordance with the conciliation and arbitration rules
and regulations of the International Arbitration Centre in England to which the
parties hereto submit. The arbitrator shall have background and expertise
relating to the issue(s) involved. The arbitration shall be in a mutually agreed
location and the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade
Laws) rules shall apply to such arbitration. The parties shall share equally the
fees and expenses of the arbitration. The arbitrator's decision shall be
binding, final and non-appealable.

     6.   FORCE MAJEURE. If either party is prevented from performing any
obligation hereunder by reason of fire, explosion, strike, labor dispute,
casualty, accident, lack or failure of transportation facilities, flood, war,
civil commotion, acts of God, or any law, order or decree of any government or
subdivision thereof, then such party shall be excused from performance hereunder
to the extent and for the duration of such prevention, provided that such party
first notifies the other party in writing of such prevention.

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     7.   PUBLICITY. Except as required by law or applicable stock exchange
rule, no public statements shall be made by either party concerning this
Agreement, its subject matter or its existence without prior consultation with
and the approval of the other party.

     8.   SEVERABILITY. In the event that any provision of this Agreement shall
be found to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable for any reason, such shall not
affect the validity of the remainder of this Agreement, which shall be construed
and interpreted as though such provision was not present.

     9.   NOTICES. Notices may be given to an officer of a party by

          (i) personal delivery,

          (ii) telex or facsimile transmission, or

          (iii) first class, registered mail addressed as follows:

          If to MEDICHEM:        President
                                 12305 South New Avenue
                                 Lemont, Illinois 60439

          If to SARAWAK:         State Financial Secretary
                                 Pejabat Setiausaha Kewangan Negeri
                                 Tingkat 17
                                 Wisma Bapa Malaysia
                                 Petra Jaya 93502 Kuching
                                 Sarawak, Malaysia

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     Notice given under (i) above shall BE deemed given on the date of delivery
and if given under (ii) shall be deemed to have been received 24 hours after the
time of transmission. Notice under (iii) above shall be deemed given on the
second week after that on which the letter is mailed. .

     10.  BINDING EFFECT. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be
binding on each party's successors in interest and assigns.

     11.  ASSIGNMENT. Except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, either
party may with the prior written consent of the other, assign this Agreement
only in connection with the sale or disposition of the entire business of such
party or that portion to which this Agreement pertains.

     12.  SUB-LICENCE. MEDICHEM may grant a sub-license to any third party,
subject to the assignee agreeing to the payment of royalty stipulated in Article
III hereinabove.

     13.  In the event MEDICHEM has no further interest in any LICENSED PRODUCT,
MEDICHEM shall notify SARAWAK and SARAWAK shall have whatever right, title and
interest it had in the LICENSED PRODUCT and MEDICHEM may be willing to negotiate
the availability of MEDICHEM's data under terms to be agreed upon.

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     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed in duplicate originals
on behalf of the parties by their below authorized officers as of the date first
written above. This Agreement is effective on the date that the Government of
Sarawak approves the Agreement.

                                                  MEDICHEM RESEARCH, INC.

                                           By:       /s/ Michael T. Flavin
                                                  ------------------------------

                                           Its:      President
                                                  ------------------------------

                                           Date:     January 25, 1996
                                                  ------------------------------

                                                  GOVERNMENT OF SARAWAK

                                           By:       /s/ [ILLEGIBLE]
                                                  ------------------------------

                                           Its:      STATE SECRETARY, SARAWAK
                                                  ------------------------------

                                           Date:     FEBRUARY 24, 1996.
                                                  ------------------------------

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                                                                   Exhibit 10.17

                          MANAGEMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT

This Agreement is as of January 1, 2004 (the "Effective Date") by and between
Flavin Ventures, LLC ("FV"), an Illinois Limited Liability Company and Advanced
Life Sciences ("ALS"), an Illinois corporation.

1.     ENGAGEMENT OF SERVICES.

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, FV hereby engages ALS to
provide administrative management services ("Services") to FV and any of its
wholly-owned subsidiaries and ALS agrees to such engagement.

2.     COMPENSATION.

As full and complete compensation for the Services of ALS, FV shall compensate
ALS on a variable basis for the portion of salary and benefits ("Gross
Employment Costs") attributable to any ALS employee(s) who provide Services to
FV. Such Gross Employment Costs will be determined on a monthly basis as
Services are provided. FV and its related subsidiaries shall also reimburse the
Company for rent and related facility costs based upon the actual square footage
occupied by each FV and its related subsidiaries. Apart from the compensation
for Services set forth above, any expenses or costs incurred by ALS in
performing the services under this Agreement shall be borne solely by ALS and
shall not be billable to FV.

3.     TERM OF AGREEMENT/TERMINATION

       3.1 Term. This Agreement shall continue in force for twelve months from
       the Effective Date of this Agreement, set forth above, and shall continue
       until terminated pursuant to Section 4.2, except that ALS's obligations
       under Section 6 of this Agreement shall continue after termination of
       this Agreement.

       3.2 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by either party by
       providing seven (7) days prior written notice to the non-terminating
       party.

4.     INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.

ALS enters into this Agreement as, and will continue to be an independent
contractor. FV shall not be ALS's employer, partner, agent or principal. ALS
will have no authority to bind or speak for FV except as may be specifically
given to ALS from time to time. ALS will not be entitled to benefits accorded to
FV employees including without limitation, worker's compensation, disability
insurance, health insurance, vacation, holiday or sick pay. ALS will be
responsible for providing, at ALS's expense and in ALS's name for any
disability, worker's compensation or other insurance as well as any licenses and
permits usual or necessary for conducting the Services hereunder. ALS shall pay,
when and as due, any and all taxes incurred as the result of ALS's compensation
hereunder including, without limitation, self-employment, income and estimated
taxes. ALS hereby indemnifies FV for any costs or liabilities arising out of
ALS's failure to pay any or all taxes applicable to ALS's compensation under
this Agreement.

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5.     PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

"Proprietary Information" shall mean all the information which FV or its related
subsidiaries provides to ALS as part of the Services rendered under this
Agreement, including but not limited to technology, trade secrets, know-how,
inventions, improvements, information, documents, materials and other property,
whether of a technical, scientific, business, financial or other nature,
furnished or disclosed to ALS or obtained by ALS in connection with the Services
under this Agreement. By way of illustration only and not limitation:
information includes formulas, formulations, sequences, constructs, data,
bioassays, costs, suppliers, customers, profits, markets, sources of funds,
research projects, plans for future experiments and developments, and failed
experiments; documents include notebooks, memoranda, letters, papers, records,
reports, data, software programs, search reports, electronic data recorded or
retrieved by any means, drawings, sketches, schematics, models and prototypes;
materials include samples of nucleic acids, proteins, tissue, cells, viruses,
chemicals, and media. Proprietary Information shall not include information
which is publicly known through no breach of this agreement by ALS, obtained
from a third party who has the legal right to disclose the information to ALS,
or known to ALS before entering into this Agreement as evidenced by ALS's
written records predating this Agreement.

5.1.   ALS shall maintain in confidence and shall not directly or indirectly
either during or after the term of this Agreement, use any Proprietary
Information for purposes unrelated to this Agreement, or disclose to anyone
outside of FV any Proprietary Information without prior written authorization
from a corporate officer of FV.

5.2    This Agreement constitutes a limited license to ALS to use Proprietary
Information solely for the purpose of performing the Services under this
Agreement. Proprietary Information shall not be used by ALS in any research or
other work that is or may be subject to employment, consulting, commercial
licensing or contracted research obligation to another person or entity, unless
written permission is first obtained by ALS from FV. Except for the limited
license to use Proprietary Information to perform the services, ALS acknowledges
that no license or other rights are granted to ALS under this Agreement with
respect to any existing or future, issued or pending patents, trade secrets or
know-how of FV or any FV affiliate or licensee.

5.3    Except to the extent necessary to perform the Services under this
Agreement, all Proprietary Information shall remain on the FV premises and be
available for use and inspection at all times by FV. Upon termination of this
Agreement, or at the request of FV prior to termination, ALS shall promptly
return all Proprietary Information ALS may have to FV, including all materials,
documents, copies, summaries, or extracts, and, if requested by FV, ALS shall
execute a certificate warranting that all Proprietary Information has been
returned to FV in accordance with this Agreement.

6.     CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In performing the Services under this Agreement, ALS shall not disclose to FV or
make any unauthorized use of trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary
information developed or acquired as a result of employment by or performance of
services for third parties. ALS represents that ALS's performance of the terms
of this Agreement will not breach any duty of confidentiality which ALS might
owe to any third party, and that ALS has not entered into any agreement, written
or oral, in conflict with this Agreement.

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7.     ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement between the parties relating to
its subject matter. This Agreement may be amended only by the written consent of
both parties. No assignment of this Agreement or any of its provisions shall be
binding upon FV unless written consent thereto is obtained from FV.

8.     GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws
of the State of Illinois, U.S.A.

9.     INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

ALS acknowledges that failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement may
cause irreparable damage. Therefore, ALS agrees that in addition to any other
remedies at law or in equity available for breach of this Agreement, FV may seek
specific performance or injunctive relief to prevent such damage or further
damage.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the dates set
forth below.

ADVANCED LIFE SCIENCES, INC.:                FLAVIN VENTURES, LLC

/s/ Suseelan Pookote                         /s/ John L. Flavin
-----------------------------                -----------------------------
Suseelan Pookote                             John L. Flavin
EVP of Corporate Development                 Member

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