Four months after going public on the strength of its GR-II receptor antagonists, Corcept Therapeutics Inc. reached agreement on a special protocol assessment for pivotal Phase III trials to test its lead product Corlux (mifepristone) against the psychotic features of major depression. (BioWorld Today)

To those who don't know better, "naked short selling" might conjure the image of an online day trader, tapping away on his keyboard in the nude. Many who do know better wish they didn't, since the reality of the illegal practice is much less amusing - especially for companies on the wrong end of the deals, such as smaller-cap biotechnology firms.

Industry has made significant inroads over the years against multiple myeloma - Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Velcade, approved in May 2003, comes to mind - but academia also has chalked up important gains against the rare, deadly blood cancer. (BioWorld Today)

Medarex Inc. and the FDA have agreed on a special protocol assessment for the pivotal Phase III trial with the fully human antibody MDX-010 plus MDX-1379, a gp100 melanoma peptide vaccine, against patients with unresectable metastatic disease who can't tolerate first-line therapy. (BioWorld Today)