> An expert FDA panel has recommended Merck's Zostavax for people 60 or over. The vaccine is designed to prevent shingles. Report
> Switzerland's Serono has pled guilty to criminal charges that it paid kickbacks to doctors in order to boost falling sales of its drugs and formally agreed to pay $704 million to settle criminal fines and civil claims. Prosecutors said that Serono made illegal payments to doctors and provided trips to France in exchange for their prescribing Serostim. Report
> The Wistar Institute has sold some of its anticipated royalties in the experimental drug Rotateq to Paul Capital Partners for $45 million. Report
> CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals has struck a deal to pay up to $6.75 million for SansRosa Pharmaceutical Development. Report
> Ortec International will buy the privately held Hapto Biotech. Release
> Halozyme has initiated a clinical trial of Hylenex. Release
> OSI Pharmaceuticals has priced a private placement of $100 million in senior notes. Release
> ImaRx has completed a private placement of $15 million in shares. Release
> MGI Pharma and SuperGen say that the FDA has accepted their resubmission in response to the agency's approvable letter for Dacogen. Release
> Invitrogen and genOway have inked a co-marketing agreement around RNAi-related services. Release
> Corgentech and AlgoRx have formally completed their merger. Release
And Finally… New research published in The Lancet predicts that the number of dementia cases will double every 20 years. Currently, 24.3 million people are believed to suffer from dementia. Report