BioCryst Buoyed

The US Food and Drug Administration last week agreed that potential flu drug peramivir can be fast-tracked through the approval process. Made by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals of Birmingham, Alabama, peramivir is an injectable drug that may be able to treat avian flu. News of its fast-track status sent BioCryst's share price soaring — it closed up 17.6%, at $22.41, on the day of the announcement. The fast-track process means that fewer data have to be shown before the drug's approval for use in humans. BioCryst's shares have more than doubled in value since the start of October, boosted not only by peramivir but also by the launch of an anticancer drug trial and a licensing deal with Roche (see Nature 438, 737; 200510.1038/438737a).

Chipping Away

Just one day after Intel disappointed Wall Street with fourth-quarter results that were weaker than expected, its chief competitor revealed record sales for the same period. On 18 January, Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, California, the second-largest manufacturer of the chips that run personal computers, announced sales of $1.84 billion for the fourth quarter, up 45% on the previous year. This suggests that despite being the world's leading semiconductor maker, Intel may be losing more market share to its arch-rival than it has acknowledged.

Pfizer struggles

Hounded by generic competition, Pfizer, the world's largest drug-maker, reported lacklustre results for the fourth quarter of 2005. At $2.73 billion, net income was down 3.3% on the previous year. Fourth-quarter revenues fell 8.9% from 2004, to $13.59 billion. In a statement, Henry McKinnell, Pfizer's chief executive, called 2005 “one of the most difficult years in memory”. But the latest results weren't as bad as investors had feared, and the firm's share price closed up 4% at $24.97 on 19 January, the day the results were announced.