Although physicians still struggle with the best ways to treat patients suspected of having prostate cancer, a new group of genetic-based tests could provide new tools that will help improve diagnostic accuracy. These new biomarkers offer hope in reducing the number of patients who receive unnecessary treatment for cancers that are not actually present in their bodies and for those cancers not aggressive enough to cause harm.

The dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Windhover's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.

Favrille Inc. believes that it has found a way to significantly curtail cycle time for vaccine production, putting it in position to implement a workable business model for patient-specific therapies for lymphoma and diseases of the immune system.

Savvy venture capitalists, biotech firms, and pharmaceutical companies have long recognized universities as technology troves of untapped value. In the last year or so, universities have developed a heightened perception of their own value--and are increasingly willing to exploit it through creative dealmaking. A look at the previous six months of licenses and research agreements signed between universities and pharmaceutical companies.