@FierceBiotech: Novartis doubles Boston expansion to $600M. Report | Follow @FierceBiotech
Slideshow: Notorious Names in Biopharma. Slideshow
Special Report: Top 10 Women in Biotech. Article
Special Report: Pharma's Biggest Flops. Report
> According to its released results, Biolex Therapeutics' Hepatitis C drug Locteron is better tolerated than its competitor PEG-Intron. The Phase IIB trial lasted 72 weeks, with Locteron administered half as often as PEG-Intron, but with the same or better efficacy. Biolex release
> Celgene posted higher than expected Q3 earnings ($910.1 million), including higher sales ($641.3 million) for its multiple myeloma drug Revlimid. Report
> Can brain signals can control prosthetic arms? Item
> Researchers have found a more effective polio vaccine--a double strain known as a bivalent vaccine--than the previously used monovalent and trivalent vaccines, reducing polio cases by up to 90 percent. Story
> Evotec and Zhejiang Jingxin have entered a licensing agreement for Zhejiang's insomnia treatment, EVT 201. The companies did not disclose the financial agreement, other than it is predominantly royalty based and includes a small upfront payment. Evotec release
> La Jolla, CA-based Regulus Therapeutics received a $10 million equity investment from Sanofi-aventis as part of its June alliance. The alliance is worth an estimated $750 million total for microRNA products. Regulus release
> Sanofi Pasteur this week reported the results of a Phase III clinical trial comparing its investigational Fluzone intradermal candidate with Fluzone administered by the traditional intramuscular method. Study results showed that the Fluzone intradermal has a lower antigen content and injection volume. Article
And Finally... There is a particular emphasis these days on developing drugs that reduce the chances for abuse, particularly for opioid-based prescriptions drugs. Along those lines, Highland Pharmaceuticals says it has "extraction resistant technology" that makes it difficult to abuse opioid-based medications. Highland says it can produce products such as oxycodone in solid dose, oral tablets that "cannot be crushed for inhalation or extracted for injection." Story