Completing a special protocol assessment process with the FDA, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. plans to begin a Phase III program of eculizumab for the chronic orphan blood disorder known as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). (BioWorld Today)

For the second time in as many months, London-based Vernalis plc reached across the ocean for a major deal with a U.S. firm, entering this week an agreement worth up to $400 million with pain-drug specialist Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. focused on the migraine therapy Frova. (BioWorld International)