Amgen to present preclinical oncology data; Analysts speculate on Pfizer, GSK HIV partnership;

> Amgen will present preclinical data for oncology drugs AMG 386, AMG 479, and AMG 102 at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting next week. Amgen release [1]

> We thought the Pfizer-GlaxoSmithKline HIV partnership was pretty exciting at face value, but Dow Jones has a tantalizing idea: That the combo is just a preliminary step toward a full-on spinoff-slash-sale. Report [2]

> Novavax says that a virus-like particle vaccine it developed was successful in guarding against both the deadly 1918 Spanish flu strain as well as an H5N1 strain in a preclinical study. Report [3]

> State governments have begun to tot up millions of dollars provided in the new stimulus bill for vaccination programs. Report [4]

> Working with grant money provided by the National Institutes of Health, a researcher at Michigan State University has developed a vaccine that he says will guard against a strain of E.Coli that kills millions of children each year in the developing world. Report [5]

> Over 700 reps from Bay Area biotechs gathered Thursday for the BayBio "Navigating the Storm" conference to assess the economic damage and what can be done to sustain the industry. Report [6]

> The Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund, which has been used for more than $160 million in loans, grants and other aid to help companies expand or relocate to the state since forming about a decade ago, was reduced by $6 million in both this fiscal year and next year. Report [7]

> Navigating the online world without a map--that's what drugmakers say they're doing, now that the FDA has cracked down on internet advertising. Report [8]

> What if you put a generics company up for sale, and no one wanted to buy it? Just ask Actavis, the Iceland-based drugmaker that was put on the block after its billionaire owner lost his shirt in that country's banking collapse. Report [9]

> Chalk up another anti-generic victory for AstraZeneca. A U.S. court gave the drugmaker a restraining order that bars Apotex from selling a copycat version of AstraZeneca's top-selling asthma medicine Pulmicort Respules. Report [10]

And Finally... Big Pharma is jockeying for position in Washington. As healthcare reform promises to change the market landscape, and comparative-effectiveness research threatens to subject drugs (and their cost) to new scrutiny, companies are anteing up on lobbyists and carefully crafting executive statements. Report [11]