Amgen Inc.'s arbitration against Johnson & Johnson over epoetin alfa ended with a bang - the pharmaceutical company must pay Amgen $150 million - but who (if anyone) should whimper was uncertain, since Amgen had asked for much more. (BioWorld Today)

Disclosing third-quarter earnings that included $186 million in U.S. sales of Avonex (interferon beta 1-a), Biogen Inc. also said it has settled the longstanding dispute with alpha interferon patent licensee Schering-Plough Corp., gaining a payment of $45 million to $50 million due by the end of the year. (BioWorld Today)

XOMA Ltd. entered its third antibody licensing deal of the year, this one an arrangement with Dyax Corp., which is providing not only payments but also access to its antibody library and a license to its important Ladner phage display patents. (BioWorld Today)

Invitrogen Corp. aims to create a "desktop to lab bench" tool set with its buyout of InforMax Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.36 per share, or about $42 million for the fully diluted equity. (BioWorld Today)

When a company provides a "business strategy update" these days, the news usually includes a cutback of some kind, and Orchid BioSciences Inc. proved no exception, saying it is phasing out its single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping instruments and the related consumables in its life sciences unit. (BioWorld Today)

There may be some doubt about what's just "a bad headache" and what's a migraine, but those who suffer the latter are absolutely sure what they're feeling. Often, their initial clue is the dreaded "prodrome," a sense that the migraine is about to occur. Then begin the throbbing, pulsing pain and extreme sensitivity to light and sound, maybe with nausea and changes in vision, such as the appearance of auras. (BioWorld Financial Watch)