As a bridge over troubled financing waters, Small Business Innovation Research grants have an indisputable value, and the advantages are especially well known to start-up biotechnology companies that have availed themselves of SBIRs. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

Last week's news of a planned $600 million cash buyout of SangStat Medical Corp. by Genzyme Corp. made headlines for its obvious virtues on both sides - but down the road an even bigger boon might be coming for the merged pair. It's a benefit that inspired phrases such as "medical revolution" and "whole new world" from Bill Martin, director of corporate communications for SangStat.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. narrowly missed its primary endpoint in the preliminary analysis of its Phase III heart surgery drug, pexelizumab, but the company said other indicators are encouraging enough to ask the FDA about filing for approval.(BioWorld Today)

Genzyme Corp. entered an agreement to acquire SangStat Medical Corp. for about $600 million in cash, or $22.50 per outstanding share, thus gaining a marketed product for organ rejection plus a pipeline regarded by both companies as complementary.(BioWorld Today)

"Controlled release" might sound like a judicial arrangement for the handling of small-time criminals who've paid their dues, but in drug development, of course, it means something else - referring loosely to the manufacture of longer-lasting versions of marketed compounds.

As expected, Amgen Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals won marketing clearance from the FDA for Enbrel (etanercept) against ankylosing spondylitis, or arthritis of the spine. (BioWorld Today)