• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, reported net product sales of $177.4 million for the third quarter, with the bulk of that coming from sales of diabetes drug Byetta (exenatide) injection, which totaled $161.1 million. That fell short of analyst expectations, though the company posted a narrower-than-expected net loss of $39.8 million, or 30 cents per share. Analyst estimates had predicted an earnings-per-share loss of 41 cents. As of Sept. 30, Amylin had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling about $1.1 billion. Amylin's stock (NASDAQ:AMLN) closed at $45.69 Thursday, down 91 cents.

• MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, reported total product sales of $110.8 million for the third quarter of 2007, with Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) injection sales totaling $66.3 million, compared to $70.4 million in the third quarter of 2006, and Dacogen (decitabine) sales totaling $34.6 million, compared to $11.9 million last year. The company's total revenue was $112.5 million. Non-GAAP net income increased to $24.8 million, or 30 cents per share, soundly beating consensus estimates of 21 cents per share. Analyst Christopher Raymond said Chicago-based Robert W. Baird & Co., which maintained a "neutral" rating on the company's stock, was "genuinely impressed" with Aloxi's apparent hold on the market despite generic competition, though it remains cautious regarding "potential scrutiny on Dacogen's competitive position on the horizon." Aloxi is marketed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and Dacogen is approved for myelodysplastic syndromes. As of Sept. 30, MGI had cash and marketable debt investments of $166.5 million. Shares of MGI (NASDAQ:MOGN) closed up 30 cents Thursday at $30.97.

• QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said that partner Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG reported global sales of Visudyne (verteporfin) of $48.7 million for the third quarter, a decrease of 35.1 percent compared to sales for the third quarter of 2006 and a decrease of 17.9 percent compared to the second quarter of 2007. U.S. Visudyne sales totaled about $9.4 million, representing about 19.3 percent of total sales for the quarter. QLT is projecting total worldwide sales of Visudyne for 2007 to be in the range of $210 million to $216 million. Shares of QLT (NASDAQ:QLTI) closed at $4.84 Thursday, down 4 cents.