Year-end retrospectives aside, taking the figurative pulse of an industry as large and varied as biotechnology is anything but easy. But during what everybody acknowledges were tight economic times, a notable trend was the continued interest by venture capital, especially in the field of anti-infectives. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

Coming in a few days under the wire, SuperGen Inc. said it has begun the rolling submission of a new drug application for Orathecin (rubitecan), an oral chemotherapy drug for refractory pancreatic cancer patients. (Bioworld Today)

The nitty-gritty of deal making and how strategy fits (or fails to fit) with business models became topics this month when ArQule Inc.'s much-hoped-for collaboration with an unnamed partner fell through, and the company said it was cutting its work force by a third and closing two facilities. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

As generic competition looms for its narcolepsy tablet Provigil, Cephalon Inc. said it has filed a supplemental new drug application seeking a broadened label that would include other sleep and wakefulness disorders. (BioWorld Today)