Monday morning brought a double shot of positive phase III data in second-line renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from Exelixis Inc.'s multityrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s nivolumab, even as the prospect of combination therapy heralds a changing landscape in RCC treatment.

Celgene Corp.'s aggressive business development activity continued this week with the $7.2 billion offer for Receptos Inc., which would add the highly touted late-stage S1P modulator ozanimod to its immunology and inflammatory franchise and raise the Summit, N.J.-based biotech's 2020 guidance to $21 billion-plus.

Shares of Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. skyrocketed Monday on much-anticipated top-line data from two pivotal trials testing crisaborole topical ointment 2 percent (formerly AN2728) in atopic dermatitis, with impressive early onset of action and safety data pointing to a potential blockbuster.

Executives of a small biotech must feel some trepidation when forced to watch from the sidelines while their firm's pharma partner – the party often bringing the bulk of the financial backing, as well as the development and commercialization muscle, to the table – becomes itself the subject of an acquisition, a move that could result in reprioritization and termination of a once potentially lucrative collaboration.

It proved a quick nod for Novartis AG's Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan), a combination ACE/neprilysin inhibitor that demonstrated an ability to reduce the rate of cardiovascular death and hospitalization related to heart failure in pivotal trials.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Orkambi won FDA approval Thursday, as largely expected, expanding the firm's reach into the cystic fibrosis (CF) market and serving as a "great example of what precision medicine can do and will do in the future," said Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Leiden.

A phase IIb failure of sodium channel Nav1.7 inhibitor TV-45070 in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee should have no readthrough to an ongoing phase IIb study of the topically applied small molecule in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), executives of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. assured investors Wednesday morning, citing distinct pain mechanisms between OA and neuropathic pain indications.

Executives at Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc. were already hinting at future acquisitions on Monday's conference call even as investors were digesting news of the $700 million cash purchase of Cord Blood Registry (CBR), a newborn stem cell collection and storage firm.

Results from Alcobra Ltd.'s phase II study of MDX (metadoxine extended release) in the rare neurogenetic disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS) may point in a positive direction for the program, even if the firm's stock went the other way Wednesday.

Three months after regaining global rights to EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat, Epizyme Inc. presented updated phase I data demonstrating a deepening response rate over time in patients with advanced B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and reiterated plans to advance into phase II testing in NHL and in solid tumors that are INI1-deficient.