It's been barely a week since Eli Lilly and Co.'s chemotherapy drug Alimta (pemetrexed) received the first-ever FDA approval in the maintenance treatment of lung cancer, and already the competition is closing in. (BioWorld Today)

Five months after signing a $575 million deal with Novartis AG for the Phase II antiplatelet drug elinogrel, Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. nailed down a $470 million deal with Merck & Co. Inc. for its other lead compound, the Phase II anticoagulant betrixaban. (BioWorld Today)

Amgen Inc.'s denosumab - already under FDA review for bone loss - generated better-than-expected data in its first Phase III oncology trial, boosting confidence in ongoing studies and enhancing the drug's potential to offset Amgen's flagging core franchises. (BioWorld Today)

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. obtained a $100 million credit facility from its largest shareholder, Deerfield Management, providing much-needed funding to propel obesity drug lorcaserin through FDA review and add muscle to ongoing partnership discussions. (BioWorld Today)