An expected, FDA approval of the type 2 diabetes drug Adlyxin (lixisenatide) finally arrived for Sanofi SA, following initial withdrawal of a new drug application in late 2013 as the French drugmaker sought to establish cardiovascular safety of the GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Tokai Pharmaceuticals Inc. called off a pivotal phase III trial comparing its triple-acting prostate cancer drug, galeterone, to Xtandi (enzalutamide, Medivation Inc.) after a data monitoring committee determined the trial was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint.

Shares of Tobira Therapeutics Inc. lost more than half their value Monday, falling 60 percent to close at $4.50 on news that Centaur, a phase IIb study of its experimental NASH drug cenicriviroc, failed to meet its primary endpoint, knocking two points off a score used to evaluate changes in the condition after a year of treatment.

Shares of Puma Biotechnology Inc. (NYSE:PBYI) rose 20.3 percent Friday on word that the company has submitted an FDA new drug application (NDA) for its lead candidate, neratinib, along with updated data showing that the drug's absolute invasive disease-free survival (DFS) benefit remained steady over time during a phase III study including the company's initial intent-to-treat (ITT) population, women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer previously treated with Herceptin (trastuzumab, Roche AG).

Given the blistering rate at which researchers of all stripes, academic and corporate, are accumulating data on the molecular nature of disease, applying those data in drug discovery efforts is a natural next step. But, even with plentiful data and computing power, multiple roadblocks to reducing the time, costs and productivity of discovery remain.

Jounce Therapeutics Inc. will receive a $225 million up-front payment and a $36 million equity investment as part of a five-candidate immuno-oncology (I-O) collaboration with Celgene Corp.

A missed endpoint in the pivotal trial of its sole candidate sent shares of Evoke Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:EVOK) down 73.1 percent to close at $2.89 on Monday as the company's nasal formulation of the proven diabetic gastroparesis drug metoclopramide, EVK-001, failed to achieve its primary endpoint of improving symptoms at week four of the all-female study.

Conditional capture of a $22.5 million milestone payment from Roche Holding AG sent Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc. shares climbing Friday, triggered by effectiveness of an IND for its interleukin-6 antagonist, EBI-031.

Another "multibillion-dollar opportunity" is how Medivation Inc. CEO David Hung framed talazoparib, the company's late-stage PARP inhibitor, in an investor call late Wednesday.