Forget the "open window" metaphor. Call it financing with the top down.Convertible notes are increasingly popular this summer, with more than a dozen roaring down the cash highway so far in June. The list of issuers includes companies big and small, with the larger sales declared by such firms as Cephalon Inc., pricing $600 million in convertible notes, and ICOS Corp. aiming to raise $250 million.

With a Phase III program in full swing for its insomnia drug Indiplon (formerly NBI-34060), Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. unveiled full Phase II data for the first time during the meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies earlier this month in Chicago. (BioWorld Financial Watch)