January 18, 2006 – AstraZeneca lost a US patent case affecting its heart drug Toprol XL, but Pfizer kept patent protection for its hypertension drug, Norvasc; Novo Nordisk said more studies are needed on its hemophilia therapy, NovoSeven, when it is used to stop bleeding on non-hemophiliacs; Ligand will pay $61.5 million to end its co-promotion deal on the pain drug Avinza; Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb said the FDA accepted their application for an add-on indication to Plavix; deCODE Genetics bought an Icelandic cancer research firm for $5.5 million; Amarin jumped 52% higher yesterday after releasing positive preclinical results of a Parkinson’s disease therapy; and Peregrine Pharma announced an accelerated testing schedule of Tarvacin as a hepatitis C therapy. The Centient Biotech 200™ was up 18 points, closing at 4052.46, a rise of .45%. More details...