Genentech Inc.'s stock was nicked more than 6 percent Friday by news of a "dear doctor" letter regarding the colorectal cancer drug Avastin, but on Monday showed signs of rebounding from concern that William Tanner, analyst with Leerink Swann & Co. in New York, called "overblown." (BioWorld Today)

The fates and fortunes of biotechnology firms can be as twisted as any crime novel's plot, but the treasure at the center of the action - some novel drug or set of patents - often remains preserved, like the jewel sought by desperate characters of fiction. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

As promised, Amgen Inc. began dosing patients in two pivotal Phase III trials of AMG 162, its fully human monoclonal antibody designed to treat post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMO) and treatment-induced bone loss. (BioWorld Today)

With a plan to boost the efficacy of antibiotics against particularly deadly and resistant bacterial pathogens, Mpex Pharmaceuticals Inc. licensed rights to Trine Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s patents pertaining to efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) for undisclosed terms. (BioWorld Today)

As the hippies used to remark, it's a gas."It," in this case, is nitric oxide, often called by the forbidding acronym NO, which first gained public acclaim when its key role in erectile function was figured out - leading boatloads of aging flower children (and others) to say "yes" to Viagra, the potency blockbuster generically known as sildenafil citrate that works by inhibiting NO's breakdown in the body.