Sanofi to invest $6B in vaccines; Crucell shares jump;

> The growing wealth seen in developing nations is spurring a big increase in the worldwide demand for vaccines, and Sanofi-Aventis says it will invest more than $6 billion over the next eight years in order to meet the projected demand. Report

> Shares of Crucell jumped after the Dutch biotech named Avid BioServices as its first preapproved manufacturer in the U.S. of the PER.C6 technology for use in antibodies. Report

> Switzerland's Axentis Pharma has taken over patents for a screening tool for cystic fibrosis therapies. Axentis release

> Cell Biosciences has named Tim Harkness as its new CEO. Harkness had been CFO at Molecular Devices Corp. Report

> Many Wall Street analysts greeted the FDA's decision to reject Merck's bid to expand the use of Gardasil to 27 to 45-year-old women with a yawn. Report

> A new report by the CDC concludes that Merck's new rotavirus vaccine has made a major impact on the disease in the last two years. Vaccine report

> The obesity epidemic poses serious public health problems, but some market-watchers are looking past the cost to society for the benefits to business. Obesity report

> The FDA finds itself in the line of Congressional fire on two different issues today. One, the agency is taking some heat for the $35 million in incentive pay it handed out last fiscal year, a 29 percent hike from the year before. Report

> Merck got a trio of mixed vaccine new today. Report

> It's another blow for Roche's Avastin the U.K. The National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence shot down the high-tech cancer med as a first-line treatment for lung and breast cancer. Report

And Finally... The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which is backed by a host of international health groups and the Gates Foundation, is preparing a huge new initiative to vaccinate millions of children in developing nations. Report