ALSO NOTED: MiddleBrook lines up $10M in financing; Cypress releases positive fibromyalgia data;and much more...

> MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals has raised up to $10 million in a new pact with Deerfield Management. Release

> Cypress Bioscience released positive Phase III data for its experimental therapy for fibromyalgia. Release

> Neurochem is shifting focus. The company announced plans to move lead candidate NRM-8499 into preclinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and commercialize tramiprosate as early as 2008. Release

> Metabolon has inked a contract with the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to use Metabolon's proprietary metabolomics platform to study the biochemical profiles of humans given the AVA anthrax vaccine. Release

> If simvastatin (Zocor) can cause insomnia and nightmares as a new study shows, then why doesn't pravastatin (Pravachol)? It seems that Zocor and its rivals Lipitor, Mevacor, and Vytorin are fat soluble, and so they cross into the brain easily. Pravachol, Crestor, and Lescol which are water-soluble, don't. Report

> Look for Boston Scientific workers at the nearest job fair. The device maker's previously announced job cuts--some 2,300, according to company forecasts--have begun. Report

> Expect lots of smiles and hand-shaking next month, when China and the U.S. are expected to sign a new drug safety pact. Report

And Finally… People who are overweight, but not obese, suffer from lower rates of a variety of ailments, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and lung disease, according to a new study on weight and health. That data has persuaded some experts to call for standards outlining healthy weight levels to be revised--upwards. Article