SAN FRANCISCO - As a Pacific storm cleared after dumping days of rain on northern coastal California, the sun shone intermittently on the 23rd annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference here, the way the figurative sun shines intermittently on the industry itself, with winners and losers, big and small. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

"Short people got no reason to live," Randy Newman sang in a satirical, widely misunderstood 1977 tune about discrimination against the height-challenged.

Canadian firm Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. entered an agreement to sell all of its assets and operations to a subsidiary of privately held PharmAthene Inc. for $18 million in cash and preferred shares and warrants. (BioWorld Today)

Bad tidings from the FDA regarding SuperGen Inc.'s Orathecin for pancreatic cancer overshadowed positive (if expected) news about the company's Dacogen for myelodysplastic syndromes, partnered with MGI Pharma Inc. (BioWorld Today)