The latest technology and life science news in WRALTechWire’s Bulldog Bulletin roundup:

  • Epic Games Owed $9.2M in Law Suit

CARY – Epic Games has been awarded another $4.5 million in damages to cover legal costs in a law suit brought by Canadian game company Silicon Knights.

The legal fight dates to 2007, and Silicon Knights now owes $9.2 million after having lost the battle.

Unfortunately for Epic, the company might never collect as Silicon Knights basically has folded up shop, according to news site O.Canada.com.

  • Glaxo’s Diabetes Drug Albiglutide Recommended by EU Regulator

LONDON – GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that Eperzan, its treatment for Type 2 diabetes, was recommended for approval by the European Union’s drug regulator.

The once-weekly medicine, also known as albiglutide, was recommend by the European Medicines Agency as a treatment to improve glycemic control in adult patients with Type 2 diabetes, Glaxo said in a statement today.

Clinical trials on albiglutide showed mixed results on its effectiveness and side effects. It hasn’t demonstrated benefits over Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s Actos or Novo Nordisk A/S’s Victoza, two leading treatments for diabetes. Glaxo has said albiglutide’s once-weekly dosing would make the drug more convenient for patients compared with existing once-daily treatments.

Sales of albiglutide may reach $218 million by 2016, according to the average of seven analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Glaxo is seeking a partner in the U.S. to help market the drug.

Glaxo, which operates its North American headquarters in RTP, has also filed the drug with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which extended the review period by three months to April 15, the company said in August.

  • Cree shatters efficiency benchmark

DURHAM – LED lighting company Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) announced that its 200 lumen-per-watt LED concept luminaire has been show to be more than twice as efficient as the best linear fluorescent luminaires.

The U.S. Department of Energy had estimated that this level of luminaire efficiency would not occur until after 2020. Cree’s prototype uses innovations in LED chips, optics, materials technology and system design.

“Demonstrating the industry’s first 200 lumen-per-watt luminaire once again illustrates Cree’s leadership in LED lighting,” said Norbert Hiller, Cree executive vice president, lighting. “The innovation required to achieve this record performance will usher in a new era of increased performance, quality and affordability for our LED lighting customers.”

  • ACC Clean Energy Challenge takes entries

RALEIGH – The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge is now accepting entries to the business innovation competition.

The Challenge, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, encourages students to develop and commercialize new clean energy technologies. The Challenge is open to student teams throughout the southeastern United States developing commercially promising technologies in the clean energy space, including projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements and advanced fuels and vehicles. But at least half of the members of each team must be students.

The winning team will receive a $100,000 prize and can the opportunity to compete in the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition Finals in Washington, D.C., this summer. Initial entries, which must include an executive summary and video pitch, are due February 14. Semi-finalists will be invited to compete in the ACC Clean Energy Challenge Finals Competition, to be held March 25-26 at the University of Maryland. Last year’s winner, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University spinout Bioadhesive Alliance, is developing a bio-based adhesive for potential use as a substitute to petroleum-based asphalt binder.

  • Netflix soars to record on possible price shift

NEW YORK – Netflix Inc., the world’s largest subscription streaming service, surged to a record after projecting customer growth that topped analysts’ estimates and saying it may charge new users more to share accounts.

The shares rose 16 percent to $385.62 at 11:25 a.m. in New York after reaching a record $395.63 intraday. The stock had the biggest gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last year.
Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings is testing new pricing strategies that would increase revenue and profit, and investing in growth to keep the company ahead of competitors HBO, Amazon.com Inc. and Hulu LLC. A price increase in Ireland suggests Netflix can follow suit at home without triggering a customer revolt like the one that cost it subscribers in 2011.

“Management appears more confident than at any time in their history,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles who has a sell rating on the stock. “It’s either a sign that things are really great or that they’re starting to believe their own hype.”

  • Holiday season, PayPal drives eBay earnings

NEW YORK – EBay said Wednesday that its earnings and revenue grew in the last three months of 2013, driven by a strong holiday season for its e-commerce site and its fast-growing payments business, PayPal.

The company also said activist investor Carl Icahn is seeking a non-binding shareholder resolution to spin off PayPal. EBay said the billionaire investor has nominated two of his employees to the company’s board and now owns a stake of 0.82 percent in the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

Shares of eBay rose $2.99, or 5.5 percent, to $57.40 in extended trading.

But eBay said it has looked into a split and does not believe it would be the best move for shareholders. CEO John Donahoe said in a letter to employees that spinning off PayPal is also not a new idea, and that “we must not let Mr. Icahn’s proposals become a distraction.”