> 454 Life Sciences is blueprinting a $5 million R&D expansion in Branford, CT. Report
> CombinatoRx has completed its deal to merge with Canada's Neuromed Pharmaceuticals. Story
> Bloomberg outlines researchers' plans to put ReNeuron's stem cell therapy to the test in 12 men disabled by a stroke. A neurosurgeon will inject two million stem cells into the brains of the first patient early next year. Story
Pharma News
> The Amgen-Roche patent smackdown is finally finito. A U.S. District Court in Boston ruled that Roche's anemia drug Mircera does in fact infringe Amgen's patents. And the court entered a permanent injunction to keep Roche from selling the drug in the U.S. until mid-2014. Article
> Pharma may be forced to cough up $20 billion more cost cuts in the battle for healthcare reform. Report
> What if pharma threw a party in China but the government refused to come? Well, that's just what might happen as a result of new rules that give domestic companies preference in government purchasing. Article
> When Sanofi-Aventis agreed to buy consumer healthcare specialist Chattem earlier this week, the $1.9 billion deal set industry tongues a-wagging about OTC meds and their importance to pharma sales growth. Report
> The FDA says Vytorin 'unlikely' to boost cancer risk. Article
Vaccine News
> Most of the experts who served on federal review panels for new vaccines in 2007 had conflicts of interest that were either never discovered or never resolved, according to a new report from the inspector general of Health and Human Services. Report
> AstraZeneca's MedImmune is scrambling to retrieve up to about five million doses of swine flu vaccine that has lost at least some of its potency. Item
> Researchers at Duke University have offered up a key insight that could help researchers develop a new AIDS vaccine. Article
And Finally.... The often feared and sometimes deadly infections caused by MRSA--methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus--are now moving out of hospitals and emerging as an even more virulent strain in community settings and on athletic teams. Release