Sector: Biotechnology

A look at the 10 biggest volume decliners on Nasdaq at the close of trading:

A look at the 10 biggest percentage gainers on Nasdaq at the close of trading:

(Reuters) - Biopharmaceutical company MediciNova Inc said its experimental asthma drug failed to meet the main goal of a second mid-stage trial, sending its shares down as much as 51 percent in extended trade.

Nektar Therapeutics shares rose Wednesday after a Jefferies & Co. analyst started covering the stock with a "Buy" rating, pointing to its promising drug pipeline.

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that David Simmons, the president and general manager of its emerging markets and established products divisions, is leaving the company to become president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc.

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> said it would not proceed with its $2.6 billion offer for Human Genome Sciences <HGSI.O> unless the U.S. biotechnology company dropped a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan imposed to block the deal.

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> said it would not proceed with its $2.6 billion offer for Human Genome Sciences <HGSI.O> unless the U.S. biotechnology company dropped a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan imposed to block the deal.

Shares of some top biotechnology companies are mixed at 10 a.m.:

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish biopharma firm Neurosearch A/S said on Wednesday charges of share price manipulation had been filed against it, but it denied the allegations and said it was working with the authorities to clear up the matter.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - A U.S. animal rights group hopes to save a herd of genetically modified pigs from early deaths after funding dried up for a Canadian research project that has stoked controversy about altering animal genes to produce food.

Drugmaker InterMune Inc. plans to sell the rights to its immune system disorder drug Actimmune for $55 million.

(Reuters) - More than 40 percent of patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis achieved clinical remission from the debilitating condition after a year of taking an experimental drug developed by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, according to data from a pivotal late-stage trial.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration granted an additional marketing approval for its diabetes drug Levemir.

(Reuters) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co's experimental drug to treat type 2 diabetes met the main goal of a mid-stage trial to test its effect on blood pressure and heart rate.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is developing its first major exhibit on the human genome with a $3 million pledge announced Monday from a biotechnology company.