Salix Pharmaceuticals ($SLXP), marred by an embarrassing inventory scandal, has hired an investment bank to help it find some strategic alternatives, Reuters reports, including an outright sale. The company has watched its shares slip since disclosing in November that its sales expectations were inflated by miscounted drug stockpiles, a revelation that reportedly scared off would-be acquirer Allergan and led CEO Carolyn Logan to step down earlier this month. News