There's one less antibody player on the market now that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has staked a claim to Medarex Inc. in the form of a $2.4 billion buyout offer, leaving many to speculate on the next takeout target in the rapidly diminishing antibody platform space. (BioWorld Today)
Shares of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. shot up 21 percent on top-line results showing that its multikinase inhibitor Nexavar met the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial, extending progression-free survival in breast cancer patients taking Xeloda. (BioWorld Today)
Hoping to improve on the success of Atripla - and extend the patent life of its lucrative HIV franchise - Gilead Sciences Inc. partnered with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to develop another three-in-one pill combining its Truvada with Tibotec's late-stage non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor TMC278. (BioWorld Today)
Rebounding from its 2007 troubles with lung cancer drug Xcytrin, Pharmacyclics Inc. has emerged with a retooled management team, a multiproduct pipeline and a rather unusual - at least for biotech - money-raising strategy. (BioWorld Today)
Shares of Targacept Inc. shot up a whopping 137 percent on news that TC-5214 hit its endpoints - bypassing expectations - in a Phase IIb study in major depressive disorder, giving the firm an edge in ongoing partnering discussions. (BioWorld Today)
Japanese firm Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. has offered to buy Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $428 million in a move that would combine transdermal drug delivery technologies of both firms and expand Hisamitsu's presence in the U.S. (BioWorld Today)
