MiddleBrook garners $100M investment; Pearl Therapeutics pockets $18M in venture funds;

> John Thievon was appointed CEO of MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as Equity Group Investments completed a $100 million investment in the company. The money will be used to market a new antibiotic and advance pipeline candidates. MiddleBrook release [1]

> Pearl Therapeutics has closed an $18 million round of financing, bringing its total take in investment funds to $36.4 million. Pearl release [2]

> Sciele Pharma has licensed the marketing and development rights to Addrenex Pharmaceuticals' ADX-415, an experimental therapy for hypertension and hot flashes. Addrenex stands to gain up to $27 million in milestone payments. Release [3]

> Altea Therapeutics has forged a partnership with Hospira, for the development and commercialization of an undisclosed product using its PassPort Transdermal Delivery System. Altea report [4]

> Steven Nissen (photo [5]) of the Cleveland Clinic made a statement to the FDA that might hurt diabetes drug manufacturers--especially Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, which are currently in the FDA approval process with diabetes drugs. Nissen report [6]

> After much back and forth and two days of deliberations in a seemingly endless Medicaid fraud lawsuit [7], an Alabama state court jury has ordered GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis to shell out some big bucks. Report [8]

> One Equity Partners is on a shopping binge, it appears. The company, which recently purchased Prodigy Health Group for $110 million, has made an undisclosed offer to buyout the wound care portion of J&J's Ethicon division, which had $270 million in sales last year. J&J report [9]

> AstraZeneca is celebrating today--or at least relaxing a bit. It has avoided a full-blown trial today to protect its top-selling antipsychotic medication, Seroquel. Report [10]

> A professor at the University of Texas in Austin has created a virtual supercomputer to study metastasis. Report [11]

> Looking to raise its profile with U.S. drug developers, Xceleron is set to open its new, $7.5 million lab in Germantown, MD later today. Xceleron report [12]

> About 20 years ago, Harvard researcher Donald Ingber accidentally stumbled on a mold that demonstrated a remarkable ability to prevent the growth of small blood vessels. Cancer report [13]

And Finally... The investment community has begun to line up for $6 million in biotechnology investment tax credits. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development says the program is designed to help persuade investors to back small, private biotech companies in the state. And economic development officials say the program has leveraged more than $24 million in biotech funds since 2006. The tax credit can be worth up to 50 percent of the investment. Article [14]