Æterna Zentaris, formerly Æterna Laboratories, knows seriously ill patients can't wait an eternity for new drugs, so the firm is working to take lead drug candidates through trials and to approvals as quickly as possible. The company's pipeline got a boost from the purchase of Zentaris, which has drugs on the market and a dozen others in development for the treatment of cancer and endocrinology disorders. The firm's flagship drug, Centrotide, is an endocrine therapy used for in vitro fertilization. It is approved in 80 countries and is marketed worldwide (except for Japan) by Merck Serono; Shionogi and Nippon Kayaku market the drug in Japan.