Shares of the Medicines Co. got knocked around after the Parsippany, N.J.-based firm halted two massive Phase III trials of antiplatelet agent cangrelor, eliminating the chances of a 2010 product launch to stave off an expected revenue decline when its top-selling drug, Angiomax, goes off patent next year. (BioWorld Today)
VeroScience LLC emerged from stealth mode Wednesday to report that its lead product Cycloset gained FDA approval, making it the first dopamine agonist for treating Type II diabetes and also the first diabetes drug to get the agency's nod under the new cardiovascular safety guidelines adopted for diabetes drugs last year. (BioWorld Today)
A major pipeline reprioritization at Sanofi-Aventis left Oxford BioMedica plc without a partner for its late-stage cancer vaccine TroVax, but the UK company made up for it by signing an earlier-stage deal with Sanofi to develop gene-based therapies for ocular diseases. (BioWorld Today)
