Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a demon of the elderly, snatching away their sight at a time in life when, for many, to watch the world is one of the great pleasures - a pleasure not afforded them in the busy, earlier years.

Genome Therapeutics Inc. and Genesoft Pharmaceuticals Inc. said they have entered a definitive agreement for an all-stock merger that would leave the new entity with one antibiotic preparing to launch and another in Phase III trials. (BioWorld Today)

Celltech Group plc said partner Pfizer Inc. has decided to delay development of the rheumatoid arthritis drug CDP 870, thereby stalling the potential launch for at least one year, and wants to renegotiate the terms of the companies' profit-sharing agreement. (BioWorld International)

Less than a month after raising $42.7 million in a Series B round, GenPath Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has nailed down a multiyear cancer deal with Merck & Co. Inc. worth up to $100 million, excluding royalties. (BioWorld Today)

With Phase III data from its product candidate for opiate-induced constipation expected by year's end, Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. priced a public offering of 3.25 million shares at $16.25 each, for net proceeds of about $48.9 million. (BioWorld Today)

If the drug doesn't work as a monotherapy, then give up and try to find someone else who wants to take over development. Such was the eminently practical approach taken last week by Amgen Inc. with regard to epratuzumab, also known as LymphoCide, for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma partnered with Immunomedics Inc. in North America and Australia. (BioWorld Financial Watch)