What should have been a big win for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s stock (NASDAQ:AUPH) Monday on the back of positive phase IIb data in the particularly tough lupus nephritis (LN) indication turned into a drubbing for the shares, which plunged 56 percent as investor attention focused – perhaps unfairly – on the study’s death rate.

While its name obviously reflects its work in the field of hearing loss, Oricula Therapeutics Inc.'s biggest impact could actually be in the antibiotics space, focusing its efforts amid the recent global call to action on tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Medivation Inc.'s second-quarter revenue miss is unlikely to dampen big pharma's interest in the firm as a takeout target, in the view of most analysts, though company management steered clear of any M&A talk during its earnings call, focusing instead on the commercial growth of Xtandi (enzalutamide) in prostate cancer and touting its late-stage PARP inhibitor, talazoparib.

Amid Shire plc's second-quarter earnings, in which the Dublin-based firm posted encouraging full-year guidance associated with the recent close of its $32 billion buyout of Baxalta Inc., was the noteworthy disclosure that it plans to discontinue development of BAX 335, its most advanced factor IX gene therapy program for hemophilia B in favor of an next-generation candidate.

Shares of Biogen Inc. were halted temporarily Tuesday after news surfaced that the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm could be a takeout target, reportedly drawing early interest from the likes of Merck & Co. Inc. and Allergan Inc.

As the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community hailed work published last week identifying a new gene linked to the disease, Cytokinetics Inc. and Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. strengthened their existing skeletal muscle activator deal with a focus on ALS, including an option to Astellas for rights to tirasemtiv, currently being tested in the phase III VITALITY-ALS study that could lead to approval applications in the U.S. and Europe.

With reimbursement issues in the rearview mirror and efforts from an amped-up sales force finally starting to yield momentum after a slower-than-expected launch for hyperphosphatemia drug Auryxia (ferric citrate), Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc.'s second-quarter earnings should have been a resounding message of reassurance.

As the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community hailed work published this week identifying a new gene linked to the disease, Cytokinetics Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. strengthened their existing skeletal muscle activator deal with a focus on ALS, including an option to Astellas for rights to tirasemtiv, currently being tested in the phase III VITALITY-ALS study that could lead to approval applications in the U.S. and Europe.

Positive data early next year from its pivotal study of M207, a zolmitriptan-coated microneedle patch for treating migraine, could go a long way to helping Zosano Pharma Corp. regain investor confidence after losing both its big pharma partnerships last year and watching shares plummet to a fraction of its January 2015 IPO price.