Out of chips

Philips, the giant Dutch electronics company, has said it will dispose of its semiconductor business by the end of this year. The company would like to float the business, which could be worth at least US$6 billion, on the stock exchange, but may also sell it to a rival. Philips, which plans to concentrate on lighting and consumer electronics, is thought to have tired of the sharply cyclical nature of the chip sector. According to the California-based Semiconductor Industry Association, total chip sales slumped to $139 billion in 2001, for example, but were back up to $227 billion last year.

Viagra appeal

A group of Chinese drug firms has appealed against a court ruling that blocks the companies from making generic copies of the impotence drug Viagra. The alliance of 13 firms is challenging a 2 June decision by a Beijing court that upheld Pfizer's patent on its blockbuster drug. That ruling overturned a 2004 decision by China's patent-review board that had sided with the generic makers. The case is being widely watched as an indication of the degree to which China will respect Western companies' intellectual-property claims (see Nature 440, 990–991; 2006).

Anthrax acquisition

A prominent biotechnology company that has ridden the wave of the genomic revolution for 14 years without selling a single product has finally found a customer. Human Genome Sciences of Rockville, Maryland, says that the US health department will buy 20,000 doses of its experimental anthrax drug, ABthrax. The $165-million order is part of the department's $5.6-billion Project BioShield. But the drug — a human antibody that blocks toxins released by anthrax bacteria — will first need regulatory approval.