Northwest Biotherapeutics plans to move a few miles south by the end of the year, leaving Canyon Park for a smaller space on the King County side of Bothell. It’s the second move since early 2003 for the developer of cancer drugs, which came close to shutting down entirely before a Maryland-based venture capital firm injected much-needed cash into the business.
Knight Ridder on the auction block
Newspaper publisher Knight Ridder Inc. didn’t make a presentation at two widely attended conferences for media investors this week, but there was no shortage of talk and speculation there about the company’s future. Knight Ridder, under heavy pressure from its largest shareholders, is exploring a possible sale or other steps to lift the value of its shares, and initial bids were due Friday.
Vioxx case jurors still deliberating
Jurors deliberated about eight hours Friday without reaching a verdict on whether Merck &Co.’s Vioxx contributed to the 2001 death of a Florida man who had been taking the once-popular painkiller for about a month. The jury was to return today. It’s considering whether the drug was defective, if the company failed to warn about its risks and was negligent in designing and marketing Vioxx.
Safety lapses cited in blast
Management tolerated risks and didn’t stress safety before a Texas oil refinery blast last spring that killed 15 employees and injured more than 170, plant owner BP PLC said Friday in its final report on the explosion. BP, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, said in a news release that its investigation team “found no evidence of anyone consciously or intentionally taking actions or decisions that put others at risk.” Still, the second of two BP internal reports said “the team found many areas where procedures, policies and expected behaviors were not met.”
High energy costs may stick around
People may have to get used to high gasoline and heating costs since tight energy markets are projected through 2006, industry and government officials said Friday. Howard Gruenspecht, deputy administrator of the Energy Information Administration, said average gasoline prices are likely to be higher next year, although not as high as in the aftermath of the hurricanes that disrupted supplies from the Gulf Coast region. He said that the Energy Department’s statistical agency has revised upward its expectations of crude oil prices over the next few years and that crude prices are not likely to decline much in 2006 from current levels.
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