About seven months after completing its $25 million buyout of Cyclis Pharmaceuticals Inc., ArQule Inc. has leveraged the acquired Activated Checkpoint Therapy technology to nail down a deal with Roche that could be worth up to $276 million, plus royalties. (BioWorld Today)

With their deal for respiratory diseases already having reached Phase II trials, Theravance Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline plc said they are broadening their relationship to the tune of $129 million, of which a "significant" portion involves GSK upping its ownership of Theravance from 6 percent to 19 percent - and GSK could end up with as much as 60 percent in 2007. (BioWorld Today)

Neither a fizzled merger nor worries over clinical trial supply of its osteoporosis drug Preos kept NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. from forging ahead with the pivotal Phase III study and meeting the primary endpoint of reducing vertebral fractures in the top-line data analysis. (BioWorld Today)

Myogen Inc.'s lead product, enoximone, missed statistical significance in the primary endpoint of a Phase III trial to support an ongoing pair of other, pivotal Phase III studies - but the company said success in secondary endpoints means the study's objective was achieved. (BioWorld Today)

In Greek mythology, Chiron was a centaur associated with healing - not a bad figure for a biotechnology firm to hook itself up with. But in the industry, what is Chiron Corp. known for? Quickly, now.