Avexa shares jump on China development pact; Transgene in partnership talks on cancer antibody;

 @FierceBiotech: Vivus shares rally after FDA staffers detail Qnexa concerns. Report | Follow @FierceBiotech

 @JohnCFierce: PhRMA hires Biz Roundtable's Castellani as new CEO. Maybe Big Pharma wants more lobbying, less political posturing. Article | Follow @JohnCFierce

> Shares of Australia's Avexa jumped on the news that it struck a deal to develop HIV drugs in China with the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry. Story

> Cambridge, MA-based Metamark Genetics has banked a $22 million venture round to back its work in molecular diagnostics. Metamark story

> A brain dye can spot Alzheimer's. Report

> Transgene tells Bloomberg it is in talks with potential partners for a monoclonal antibody which promises to fight breast cancer. The French biotech says it hopes to complete a deal by the end of next year. Article

> Swiss pharma powerhouse Roche has inked a co-exclusive license on Qiagen's PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) biomarker so it can proceed with the development of new diagnostic assays. Report

> Emergent BioSolutions has won a $107 million contract from the federal government that allows the company to ramp up production of the anthrax vaccine BioThrax. Story

> Cubist says that a new study of Cubicin demonstrated its promise as a treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections. Report

Xconomy reports that Peter Schultz has left his post as director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. Report

> San Diego-based Femta Pharmaceuticals gained $2.2 million in venture backing. Story

> A team of researchers has discovered a new biomarker that can be used to identify aggressive thyroid cancer and predict outcomes for patients. Article

And Finally... Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are now the first to successfully establish the necessary technical conditions for decoding the underlying mechanisms of motion vision. And they've concluded that a fly's brain can beat any computer. Release