> Dendreon says that it will spend up to $50 million to expand its biotech processing facility in New Jersey. Story
> Halozyme Therapeutics has raised $40 million in a stock offering. Report
> An advisory panel for the FDA has scheduled an August 13 meeting to review denosumab, Amgen's closely watched osteoporosis drug. Report
> Kowa Pharmaceuticals America says the FDA has approved Cambia, an NSAID combined with potassium bicarbonate for acute migraine. Release
> Wyeth is extending its collaboration pact with Trubion Pharmaceuticals for another year. Report
> A new French study concludes that the rheumatoid arthritis drug masitinib appears to be both safe and efficacious. Story
> GTC has received its second delisting notice from Nasdaq. Report
Research News
> Starting from the premise that all drugs used to treat brain ailments clumsily flood the entire system with therapeutics, researchers say that fiber optics can help pinpoint the exact regions of the brain that need to be targeted when treating Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy and other such ailments. Report
> PIKAMAB is developing a theragnostic test that can identify just how likely it is that patients will respond to an antibody therapy. Report
> A missing stretch of DNA may provide a key clue to determining why some children are threatened with neuroblastoma. Report
> With every antibiotic fated to become obsolescent, researchers are always working to find a new generation of antibacterials. And with the spread of drug-resistant infections on the rise, the work has never been more urgent. Report
> Drugs can stop HIV from progressing, but until now researchers have been stumped in their efforts to eradicate the deadly virus. Report
Pharma News
> Everyone's a winner with the pharma industry's $80 billion in concessions to healthcare reform. Or so analysts are saying. Report
> The ex-Pfizer sales manager sentenced for off-label promotion of the Bextra painkiller told Massachusetts officials that the company not only knew about her off-label activities, but encouraged them. Report
> The U.S. Supreme Court passed on a chance to check out "pay for delay" deals between drugmakers and generics firms. Article
> Fifteen U.S. states are crying foul over Wyeth's Protonix pricing. The states filed a federal complaint alleging that the drugmaker avoided millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid programs that had bought the acid-reducing drug. Report
> Merck and Schering-Plough merger news: Merck is raising the money to make the deal, but FTC regulators want their chance to order animal health spin-offs. No worries, the drugmakers say. They expected FTC to come snooping around. And they still expect the deal to close as scheduled during Q4. Report
And Finally... On the eve of an international meeting bringing together 200 African researchers to discuss progress on research for neglected tropical diseases, Merck and the not-for-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative announced a master discovery and development pact. Release