ALSO NOTED: Takeda licenses Hematide; Lectus garners £8.2M; YM shares gain on fast-track announcement;and much more...

> Takeda Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $27 million in an upfront payment and direct investment and up to $75 million in milestone payments in exchange for the commercial rights to Affymax's anemia therapy Hematide in Japan. Report [1]

> The UK's Lectus Therapeutics has rounded up £8.2 million in its first round of venture capital. Report [2]

> Shares of YM Biosciences rose on the news that the FDA had put its lead breast cancer therapy on its regulatory fast track review program. Report [3]

> A leading dermatology group says the FDA program to steer pregnant women from the acne drug Accutane is a "disaster."  Article [4]

> Chugai Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Roche, is preparing to ramp up production of Tamiflu for the Japanese market. Report [5]

> American Pharmaceutical Partners has received FDA approval for a generic version of Novartis' Sandostatin. Report [6]

> BioXell and Lay Line Genomics have inked a licensing deal for the development of MNAC13, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to TrkA receptors, blocking the action of Nerve Growth Factor, a key mediator of pain. Release [7]

> Myogen announced positive top line results of the AMB-222 study, an open-label study of ambrisentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Release [8]

> Biovitrum and Amgen have expanded their licensing deal to develop Biovitrum's small molecule 11beta-HSD1 enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Release [9]

And Finally… A host of Canadian pharmacies report a sharp spike in the number of seizures of drug shipments to patients south of the border. Article [10]