> Charles River Laboratories is signaling weaker revenue ahead as pharma and biotech companies tighten their budgets. "Our clients are continuing to invest in drug discovery and development," says CEO James C. Foster, "but they are facing a range of unprecedented challenges from drugs losing patent protection to the availability of funding for small biotech companies. To address these challenges, our clients are restructuring their businesses, reprioritizing their drug development pipelines and shifting focus to drugs in late-stage development." Release
> While Big Pharma sheds sales reps left and right in the U.S., at least one Indian outpost is set for significant expansion. MSD Pharmaceuticals, Merck's subsidiary on the subcontinent, plans to more than double its staff there over the next two years. Report
> Exelixis has signed an extension of the company's research collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Release
> Some new details out today about the big sales cuts at GlaxoSmithKline's U.S. operations. As the company shifts folks around--and sheds about 1,000 jobs, net--it's going to group its pharma folks by treatment class rather than by geography, as it has in the past. Report
> Already generics makers are crowing about a potential boost from an Obama administration. Report
> Merck is preparing to launch construction of a €200 million vaccine R&D facility in the southeastern area of Ireland. The pharma giant says that construction will get started next year and should wrap in 2010. Report
> Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems say their merged operations will be named Life Technologies Corp. Report
> SYGNIS Pharma has raised about 18.3 million euros. Release
> The failure of Merck's HIV vaccine caused havoc in the field as the NIH pulled back and tried to find out what went wrong. Now French researchers led by Eric Kremer of the University of Montpellier in France believe they can explain why the crucial Merck HIV vaccine trial had to be stopped last fall after it raised the risk of HIV infection. Report
> More news about Merck and Teva: The branded drugs giant could be threatened by a copycat Singulair sooner than expected, analysts say. Report
And Finally... With a new presidential administration, of course, comes new agency leadership... and talk is already flying about appointees to your favorite health overseers, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA. Report