Ebb & Flow

Two separate takeouts involving NitroMed (NASDAQ:NTMD) and Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) were upset last week, and a third deal involving Progen (ASX:PGL; NASDAQ:PGLA) was threatened, all by third parties that have their own ideas about what to do with the assets.

Deerfield Management finally snatched NitroMed away from Archemix, and Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) offered a partnering lifeline to Exact Sciences, nixing a proposed takeout by Sequenom (NASDAQ:SQNM). In Australia, meanwhile, Cytopia (ASX:CYT) objected to Progen's proposed merger with Avexa(ASX:AVX) and suggested instead a tie-up between the two cancer companies...