A drug's blow-up in Phase III trials is hardly easy to take in stride, but Biogen Inc. came out of its failure last week seeming not much the worse for wear in the eyes of Wall Street, even if nobody at the company was popping champagne corks. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

With news that its deal with Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. to develop Picovir (pleconaril) is being terminated by mutual agreement, ViroPharma Inc.'s stock took another trouncing - and the company disclosed plans to restructure, cutting its work force by 63 percent. (BioWorld Today)

With the antibiotic dalbavancin in Phase II trials, Versicor Inc. said it has agreed to buy collaborator Biosearch Italia SpA - from which it gained the rights to the drug - for $260.7 million in a stock swap expected to close early next year. (BioWorld Today)

As promised, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. put the finishing touches on its rolling biologics license application for Aldurazyme, the enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis I. (BioWorld Today)

Nothing's quite as dry as patent law, but many would make the argument that nothing's quite as important to biotechnology companies, either, as intellectual property in general and the legal protection thereof. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

Amgen Inc.'s Aranesp (darbepoetin alpha) for oncology applications won FDA approval, and the competitive race that began last year between the company and erythropoietin licensee Johnson & Johnson will begin heating up shortly. (BioWorld Today)