Multiple sclerosis - as many of those afflicted know all too well - is characterized in extreme forms by tissue-hardening paralysis, during its often-painful march through the brains and spinal cords of victims. But the competitive arena for MS treatments has been anything but frozen in place, especially lately. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

Pharmacyclics Inc. is planning a new Phase III trial of its cancer cell disrupter, Xcytrin, in the sector of patients for whom the drug seems to do the most good those with lung cancer that has metastasized to the brain. (BioWorld Today)

You don't hear the term "overnight sensation" much in biotechnology (in fact, you don't hear it much at all, now that variety show host Ed Sullivan is gone), but the tag seems just right for Alkermes Inc. even if those who know him might have difficulty imagining CEO Richard Pops onstage with a microphone, belting out tunes. (BioWorld Financial Watch)

Paying $55 million, Cephalon Inc. bought back the interest of two unaffiliated investors in a joint venture formed in December to put as much as $50 million into U.S. commercial efforts on behalf of Provigil for sleep disorders and Gabitril for epilepsy. (BioWorld Today)

You might not expect onlookers to be especially sanguine about competitors against erythropoietin king Amgen Inc., which continues to reap revenues galore from its blood-boosting blockbuster drug. Last week, though, two companies with EPO ambitions made news. (BioWorld Financial Watch)