Novartis biosimilar Filgrastim gets EU approval; Geron goes on the market;

> Novartis' Sandoz just got E.U. approval for its third biosimilar drug: Neupogen, a.k.a. filgrastim, a neutropenia treatment often used in chemo patients and bone-marrow transplant recipients. Report

> Stem cell research pioneer Geron announced today the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 7.25 million shares of its common stock. The offering is expected to close on February 19, 2009. On February 12, 2009, the last reported sales price of Geron common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market was $7.77. Release

> Seems there's no real consensus on whether the Pfizer-Wyeth merger is a good thing. As CNBC reports, two analysts put out virtually opposite opinions on the megadeal yesterday. Report

> More proof that India, et al, is where it's at: Gilead Sciences is scouting the subcontinent for contract-manufacturing partners. The company also is eyeing R&D partnerships there, SVP Greg Alton told the Wall Street Journal, and wants to license more of its drugs to Indian pharma firms. Report

> According to a new report from the market research firm SK&A (and outlined by In Vivo), the percentage of doctors who require pharma reps to make an appointment to visit their offices leapt by 22 percent in just 6 months last year. Report

> Novartis just got E.U. approval for its third biosimilar drug: Neupogen (filgrastim), a neutropenia treatment often used in chemo patients and bone-marrow transplant recipients.

And Finally... Every baby born a decade from now will have its genetic code mapped at birth, the head of Illumina, the world's leading genome sequencing company, has predicted. Report