> Eden Biodesign, a provider of biopharmaceutical process development, cGMP manufacturing, and consultancy services, has posted eighteen new job openings located at its Liverpool, UK cGMP facility. Eden release
> Xconomy report that diagnostic tech developer Xenomics has filed a lawsuit against Sequenom. Xenomics claims that Sequenom misrepresented the statues of its Downs syndrom test, which caused Xenomix to license patents to Sequenom for the test. Report
> Repros Therapeutics has entered into a settlement agreement with its major creditors for the large majority of the debt incurred associated with the recently suspended Proellex clinical program. Release
Pharma News
> Sanofi-Aventis is coming down off its high horse, CEO Chris Viehbacher says. In an interview with Forbes, the new chief says he's changing the company's habits to make it more accessible and open. Article
> Add another potential use for cholesterol-lowering statin drugs: Anti-flu remedy. A large study found that statin patients who were hospitalized with seasonal flu were half as likely to die as those who weren't using the meds. Article
> European regulators offer yet another update on Tysabri-linked cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: The grand total is now 24, up from 23 last week and just 13 some six weeks ago. Of those 24 patients, four died. Tysabri news
> Did they or didn't they? In a trial pitting ex-Johnson & Johnson sales rep against the company, a former national sales director testified that reps were trained to avoid pushing drugs for off-label uses. But a sales-rep witness says he did promote off-label use, and that the company's training did not prohibit the sales approach he used. Report
Happy Halloween: The 2009 Biotech Graveyard. Report
And Finally... Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells. Report