This is the last part. Continued from part 2.

Developing medicines is a minefield that Tranzyme Pharma has navigated well so far. But the Durham company is about to embark on one of its trickiest missions.

Getting its first product, a painkiller, approved for sale was a triumph for BioDelivery Sciences.

Champagne corks popped at BDSI Thursday, the day the Food and Drug Administration let the small Raleigh drug development company know that Onsolis, a potent pain patch for cancer patients, had passed all regulatory hurdles. On Friday, analysts congratulated BDSI CEO Mark Sirgo during a conference call. By Monday, BDSI expected to have about $27 million more in the bank, a payment its Swedish partner Meda promised upon regulatory approval of Onsolis.

This is the second part of three. Continued from part 1.

Work on promising ghrelin medicines has gotten to a critical stage a decade after Japanese researchers discovered the hormone that stimulates hunger and is linked to insulin production.

A few weeks after being challenged by former Gov. Jim Hunt to go and recruit Chinese companies to North Carolina, Keith Crisco, the state's new commerce secretary, offered a response at a China business forum Tuesday at Brier Creek Country Club.