January 23, 2006 – Biogen Idec and Elan said the FDA will hold hearings on March 7 to assess whether to re-approve multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri; the antibiotic Ketek from Sanofi-Aventis was reported to cause liver damage including one death; Nuvolo received fast-track designation for its clot busting drug; Spectrum Pharma could receive up to $40 million in milestones for non-US rights to satraplatin, the first oral platinum drug; Bristol-Myers Squibb set aside a $185 million reserve to settle a class action lawsuit on a discontinued hypertensive drug; Nymox Pharma got an OK to continue its pivotal trial of a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia; Amgen will invest 1.3 billion euros in a manufacturing plant located in Ireland; Medtronics will pay $37.5 million to settle a heart valve patent suit; and Genentech sent a $12.8 million milestone payment to Tanox for Xolair sales. The Centient Biotech 200™ dropped 27 points to 3952.21, a decline of .67%. More details...
