In November, when their would-be blockbuster drug for multiple sclerosis won FDA approval based on a single year of data, Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp. plc disclosed they had changed the name of the compound from Antegren (which had been used during its development) to the odd-looking and harder-to-pronounce Tysabri.

"Miracle drug" is not a phrase bandied about lightly in biotechnology, but when key data for Avastin (bevacizumab), the antibody for colorectal cancer from Genentech Inc., were unveiled at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in 2003, people were talking. (BioWorld Financial Watch)