Today's featured article
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 Icos was the largest biotechnology company in the U.S. state of Washington before it was sold to Eli Lilly and Company in 2007. Co-founded in 1989 by George Rathmann, a pioneer in the industry and co-founder of Amgen, Icos focused on the development of drugs to treat inflammatory disorders. During its 17-year history, the company conducted clinical trials of 12 drugs, three of which reached the last phase of clinical trials. Icos is famous for tadalafil (Cialis), a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. This drug was discovered by GlaxoSmithKline, developed by Icos, and manufactured and marketed in partnership with Eli Lilly. Boosted by a unique advertising campaign led by the Grey Worldwide Agency, sales from Cialis allowed Icos to become profitable in 2006. Cialis was the only drug developed by the company to be approved. LeukArrest, a drug to treat shock, and Pafase, developed for sepsis, were both tested in phase III clinical trials, but testing was discontinued after unpromising results during the trials. Eli Lilly acquired Icos in January 2007, and most of Icos's workers were laid off soon after. CMC Biopharmaceuticals, a Danish contract manufacturer, bought the remnants of Icos and retained the remaining employees. (more...)
Recently featured: "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" – Kirsten Dunst – Superb Fairywren
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Did you know...
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From Wikipedia's newest articles:
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- ... that the captain of the cargo liner SS Beaverburn was given a gold-headed cane for commanding the first ship in 1947 to reach the port of Montreal?
- ... that other than "incapable" beneficiaries, the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 only allows the courts to alter trust documents for potential beneficiaries, not confirmed ones?
- ... that the 80-acre refuge at Wolf Haven International shelters 47 wolves that would otherwise have no homes and is visited by over 20,000 people a year?
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- ... that 'The Ghost with the Hammer in his Hand', with more than ninety knock-outs, was one of the greatest Welsh boxers?
- ... that John Virginius Bennes's architectural work included the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City, Oregon, and at least 35 buildings on the Oregon State University campus?
- ... that an unknown burglar—exhibited in a coffin at the Red Lion Inn in Shoreham, West Sussex in the 1850s after being shot dead—was identified by his dog?
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In the news
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On this day...
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March 13
- 1781 – German-born British astronomer and composer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus (pictured) while in the garden of his house in Bath, Somerset, England, thinking it was a comet.
- 1845 – German composer Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, one of the most popular and most frequently performed violin concertos of all time, was first played in Leipzig, with violinist Ferdinand David as soloist.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Nazi troops under SS Hauptsturmführer Amon Göth began liquidating the Jewish Ghetto in Kraków, Poland, sending about 8,000 Jews deemed able to work to the Plaszow labor camp. Those deemed unfit for work were either killed or sent to die at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
- 1954 – Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap unleashed a massive artillery barrage on the French military to begin the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the climactic battle in the First Indochina War.
- 1996 – In the deadliest attack on children in the history of the United Kingdom, a spree killer killed sixteen children and a teacher at a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, before committing suicide.
More anniversaries: March 12 – March 13 – March 14
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