The Supreme Court lifted Monday a four-year ban on the sale in the United States of genetically modified alfalfa, which farmers fear contaminates others crops.

Nasdaq grants biopharmaceutical company Repros hearing to plead case before delisting. Repros Therapeutics Inc. said Thursday it has been granted permission by Nasdaq to plead at a hearing why it should be granted an extension before being delisted from the stock market.

Look for companies that don?t depend on the success of a clinical trial . Grab your crystal ball? we?re going to jump into the healthcare sector and try to look into the future.

Premarket roundup: Dell slips on $100M cash reserve; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer rise. Among the premarket stories for Friday, June 11, from AP Financial News:

BOSTON (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn has abandoned his proxy fight at Genzyme Corp <GENZ.O> in return for the biotechnology company's acceptance of two of his representatives to its board.

Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. said Wednesday it settled a proxy dispute with activist investor Carl Icahn that will place two of his nominees on the board of directors.

Biogen Idec COO plans to retire in December as company prepares to name new chief. Biotechnology company Biogen Idec Inc. said Monday that its chief operating officer plans to retire at the end of the year.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Adding the drug cetuximab (Erbitux) to standard treatments does not help patients with early stage colon cancer even though it does help patients with advanced disease, a perplexing finding that is causing doctors to question some basic assumptions about cancer drugs, they said on Sunday.

Genzyme adds former executive Dennis Fenton to board, expands to 11 directors. Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. said Monday it nominated Dennis Fenton for the board of directors, expanding to 11 members.

Paper industry to plant test forests of genetically altered eucalyptus in 7 Southern states. The commercial paper industry's plans to plant forests of genetically altered eucalyptus trees in seven Southern states have generated more cries from critics worried that such a large introduction of a bioengineered nonnative plant could throw natural ecosystems out of whack.

Individual EU nations will be free to ban genetically modified crops, even if they are deemed safe and approved, under rule changes being drawn up by Brussels to unblock the clearance process.

Malaysian official defends animal test lab, says God made monkeys for experiments. A Malaysian government official defended an Indian company's plans to build an animal testing medicine lab in his state, saying Monday that God created monkeys and rats for experiments to benefit humans.

Maxygen announces new $10 million stock repurchase plan. Biotechnology company Maxygen Inc. said Thursday it will may back up to $10 million shares of its common stock under a new repurchase program.

FDA says new web portal will improve consumer safety. Consumers, manufacturers, researchers, and public health officials can also file reports about animal drugs and adverse events during human gene transfer trials on the government's new Safety Reporting Portal (SRP).

Analyst sees Origin Agritech shares more than doubling as revenue, market share grow. Shares of Origin Agritech Ltd. jumped more than 20 percent Monday after a Rodman & Renshaw analyst raised his price target on the Chinese agricultural biotechnology company's stock.

The following is a list of initial public offerings planned for the coming week. Sources include Renaissance Capital, Greenwich, CT (http://www.renaissancecapital.com) and SEC filings.

Not quite new life but a step that way: Scientists make a synthetic cell using manmade DNA. Scientists announced a bold step Thursday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They've produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA.

Scientists announced a bold step Thursday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They've produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists working to make a synthetic life form reported a major step forward Thursday, saying they had created an artificial genome and used it to bring a hollowed-out bacterium back to life.

Spanish scientists unveil the 1st clone of a fighting bull, retaining prized DNA. Scientists in Spain say they have cloned a fighting bull for the first time.