Abbott Respiratory LLC, as expected, handed back U.S. rights to Flutiform to London-based SkyePharma plc. It was no surprise that the two firms parted ways on the asthma drug candidate after the FDA in January said further clinical trials were needed to file for regulatory approval and later the Flutiform new drug application was transferred back to SkyePharma. Still, Abbott lost out on potential future milestone payments in excess of $150 million. (BioWorld International)