Marlborough

The urgent care frenzy that has swept Eastern Massachusetts is arriving in Greater Worcester, with at least three major players set to enter the market and plans from existing providers to up their urgent care presence.

A drug being developed by RXi Pharmaceuticals of Marlborough to treat patients with malignant melanoma has secured “orphan” status from the federal government, allowing RXi to seek more incentives to bring it to market, the company announced.

Boston Scientific has aligned itself with a Chinese company that will help the Marlborough-based medical device manufacturer reach out to more doctors in that country who remove stones from patients' bile ducts.

The amount of available Class A office space —the kind sought by large companies with big rent budgets — is dwindling in the Route 495 West market. But there are still large blocks of vacant space, and the market may have a ways to go before reaching optimal strength. A recent report by Boston commercial real estate firm Transwestern|RBJ found that Class A office availability totaled just a hair above 20 percent in the first quarter, which closed March 31. According to Transwestern, that's the lowest rate of availability in the I-495 West submarket since 2007. “The market is definitely heating up and deals are getting done,” said Marci Alvarado, a commercial real estate broker with Parsons Commercial Group in Framingham.

A retail building on Bolton Street in Marlborough that houses a Rite Aid pharmacy has been sold for $4.15 million, according to the firm that brokered the deal.

Oxford Immunotec of Marlborough has developed a laboratory test that measures a patient's immunity to cytomegalovirus (CMV), a herpes virus.

RXi Pharmaceuticals of Marlborough, which is pushing toward federal approval of its initial products, saw 8.3-percent revenue growth in the final quarter of 2014 while paring its quarterly loss over the fourth quarter of 2013.

Marlborough's Ocata Therapeutics announced Tuesday a licensing agreement with Allele Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals of San Diego.

Three Central Massachusetts life sciences companies, including one that's moving its headquarters to the region, will receive nearly $5 million in state tax incentives toward the creation of 275 jobs.

Marlborough's Ocata Therapeutics (formerly Advanced Cell Technology) reported a net loss of $34.7 million in 2014, 12 percent higher than its net loss in 2013.