> Genentech says that its fourth quarter profit soared 47 percent, but analysts were quick to grouse about slower-than-expected growth for sales of Avastin. Any sign of weakness, they fear, could upset Roche's plans to acquire all remaining shares in the biotech giant. Report
> Osiris Therapeutics says it's hammered out a deal with regulators on an application for Prochymal, which it expects to be the first stem cell product submitted to the FDA. Story
> BioOhio put out a report claiming that the overall economic impact of Ohio-based bioscience in 2007 was $148.2 billion, representing 15.7 percent of Ohio's total economic output. Release
> Since September, Ranbaxy Laboratories has been hamstrung by a U.S. import ban. Ranbaxy, of course, has been working with the FDA to resolve problems that led to the agency banning Ranbaxy's products. But now the company is considering another approach: Buying FDA-sanctioned manufacturing plants. Report
> We've been hearing rumblings of a big cut in Pfizer's sales force, and now those rumors are hitting the news: Company brass is considering lopping off one-third of its reps and district managers. That's a grand total of 2,400 potential cuts, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports, quoting a Bloomberg News story. Report
> Genentech ended 2008 with a bang. Earnings leapt by 47 percent for the fourth quarter to $931 million, or 87 cents per share, on revenue growth of 25 percent. At $3.7 billion, revenues included $2.98 billion in drug sales. Nevertheless, Wall Street greeted the news with a thud. Report
> Last week, FDA scientists complained to President-elect Obama about less-than-rigorous oversight at the agency, especially for medical devices. Now, the Government Accountability Office is saying that hundreds of devices got the FDA nod without a full-scale review. Report
> Which Big Pharmas will make the biggest leaps forward in cancer drug sales over the next five years? Roche, Genentech and Merck, says a market research report from URCH Publishing. Report
> > Over the past eight years a vaccine that guards against pneumococcal meningitis has slashed the number of new cases posted for children under the age of two. Report
> > When Pfizer R&D chief Martin MacKay addressed the recent JP Morgan conference, he left no doubt how interested the pharma giant is in new biotech therapies--particularly therapeutic vaccines. Analysts quickly pointed to Pfizer's licensing deal with Avant Immunotherapeutics' brain cancer vaccine as a case in point. Report
And Finally... Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a small intracellular protein that helps cells commit suicide. The finding could lead to drugs for combating cancer and other diseases characterized by overproduction of cells. Release