In pretty short order, the regulatory status of Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s insomnia drug Silenor (doxepin) went from having an uncertain timeline to a PDUFA date only two months away, news that surprised Wall Street and sent the company's shares skyrocketing 81.8 percent Friday. (BioWorld Today)

Promising preclinical data with its RNAi-based platform in liver and bladder cancers, combined with an early stage collaboration, sent MDRNA Inc. skyrocketing Wednesday in what could be a sign of news to come from the Bothell, Wash.-based company in 2010. (BioWorld Today)

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. started off the year - and the annual J.P. Morgan conference - on a high note, partnering its Humaneered antibody fragment targeted against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections with Paris-based Sanofi Pasteur in a potential $290 million deal. (BioWorld Today)

Privately held Icon Bioscience Inc., which has flown under the radar since it was founded in 2007, wanted to wait until it had proof of its drug delivery technology for controlled-release ophthalmic products before emerging on the public scene. (BioWorld Today)