> Allos Therapeutics has gained orphan drug status for an experimental cancer therapy. Report
> The U.K.'s drug watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, has recommended against covering Velcade, saying its effectiveness against myeloma is unclear. Report
> NICE, however, decided to back Enbrel and Raptiva for severe psoriasis. Report
> The National Cancer Institute has begun a late-stage trial of Cytogen's Quadramet in combination with Zometa as a therapy for lung, breast and prostate cancer that has spread to the bone. Release
> Acambis said that its revenues this year would likely suffer from changes in a U.S. government contract for smallpox vaccine. Article
> Avalon Pharmaceuticals and ChemDiv have inked a collaboration for the discovery and development of small molecule oncology therapeutics. Release
> Iconix Pharmaceuticals announced a services agreement with Merck KGaA in which Iconix scientists will compare several of Merck's compounds with compounds from similar classes of molecules and with marketed products to gain insight into the safety of new drug candidates. Release
> Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma and Bristol-Myers K.K. have concluded an agreement on the marketing rights of anti-hypertension and hepatocellular cancer drug. Release
And Finally… South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, the man at the center of an international scandal over faked stem cell research, explained that some of the research money that investigators went looking for was spent on a failed effort to clone an extinct mammoth. He is on trial for embezzling funds. Article