Here's wishing everyone had a happy holiday break.
While we were away for our customary leave, we spotted some notable headlines. Telik scored the biggest news of the past week, reporting that its cancer therapy failed three late-stage drug trials. Analysts were also shaking their heads over the time it took Telik to release data. The company's stock plunged 70 percent. AstraZeneca plans to continue development of AZD3480 (TC-1734) in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, news that cheered Targacept, which receives a $20 million milestone payment for the advancement. CombiMatrix is splitting from its parent company, Acacia Research. Lupin and Cornerstone BioPharma ended a drug development deal for an anti-infective. Oscient restructured its licensing deal for Factive, spurring a 21 percent increase in its stock value. And NeoPharm, which recently announced that its lead drug failed a late-stage study, cut 14 jobs in a restructuring. - John Carroll