Abbott Laboratories accounted for two of five original PMA approvals recorded by US FDA in August. That update and more from Medtech Insight's Approvals Tracker.

Colby Pharmaceutical aims to develop drugs capable of inhibiting key enzymatic and hormonal signaling pathways in prostate and brain cancers. The start-up hopes to help men who have been diagnosed with primary or recurrent prostate cancer, including those who have failed current standard of care hormone therapy or chemotherapy. The company's lead compound is an anti-inflammatory and anti-androgenic small molecule that binds the androgen receptor. In culture and in animals, Colby says that it is therapeutic for androgen-dependent prostate tumors. The molecule does not appear to be pro-estrogenic and CPC-100 is also therapeutic for androgen-independent prostate tumors-which would distinguish it from all other anti-androgens now on the market.

Pfizer's brand-new oncology business unit appears to be the linchpin in its transformation from primary care behemoth to specialty powerhouse. The Big Pharma also followed this up with the announcement that it was cutting early-stage R&D programs focused on obesity, bone health, and what has been its mainstay--cardiovascular disease. Together, these moves should be viewed as the most extreme example of the industry's flight from primary care medicine into the safer haven of specialty-focused pharmaceuticals,

Medical device investors see the potential for significant returns from the recent spate of initial public offerings, and they're tending to outperform their biopharmaceutical counterparts.