> Elixir Pharmaceuticals has raised $12 million and struck a deal with Novartis that gives the pharma giant an option to buy the company following a Phase IIa trial. The mid-stage study will focus on an oral diabetes drug. Story
> The Kansas Bioscience Authority has OK'd investments of $11.1 million to help boost the state's life sciences industry. Story
> GW Pharmaceuticals has filed for European approval of its cannabis-based drug for multiple sclerosis. A trial demonstrated that Salivex reduced incidents of spasticity in patients. Report
> Hemispherx Biopharma has agreed to sell up to $16 million in common stock and warrants in a registered offering to two institutional investors. Release
> For such a tiny state, Vermont is exerting big-time pressure on drugmakers. The state legislature has passed a new law requiring drug and device companies to disclose all payments to doctors and other healthcare providers--publicly. Report
> In the ongoing saga of trial-and-error online marketing, the FDA has cited Johnson & Johnson for a web video promoting its chronic pain drug Ultram ER. Report
> Pfizer hasn't been standing idly by as its rivals forge ahead into generics and emerging markets. The drugmaker announced today that it has inked licensing deals with two Indian pharma firms--deals that will not only beef up its presence in the developing world but also broaden its portfolio of generic meds. Report
> OpenClinica Enterprise will be the electronic data capture and clinical data management solution for the Abuja heart study, a long-term effort involving as many as 10,000 patients from multiple sites across Nigeria. Report
> Clinical Trials & Surveys Corp. will provide Johns Hopkins University with its StudyCTMS clinical trials management software and data quality services for less than $50,000. That's "significantly less than it would cost to hire a CRO to complete the same work," according to an announcement. Report
> In the ongoing saga of trial-and-error online marketing, the FDA has cited Johnson & Johnson for a web video promoting its chronic pain drug Ultram ER. Report
> Was AstraZeneca touting Seroquel for off-label uses? Or was it simply plotting to get FDA approval for new indications for the atypical antipsychotic? These are the essential questions posed by a mega-document dump today, in which plaintiffs lawyers in a Seroquel liability suit unveil company files that they say will bolster their case against the drugmaker. Report
> The word of the day: generics. While Pfizer was out making deals in India, Novartis was negotiating to buy Ebewe Pharma's cancer drugs unit--for a respectable $1.3 billion. The all-cash deal will give Novartis Ebewe's generic oncology injectables, further beefing up the Swiss drugmaker's already strong Sandoz unit. Report
> For such a tiny state, Vermont is exerting big-time pressure on drugmakers. The state legislature has passed a new law requiring drug and device companies to disclose all payments to doctors and other healthcare providers--publicly. Report
> Pfizer hasn't been standing idly by as its rivals forge ahead into generics and emerging markets. The drugmaker announced today that it has inked licensing deals with two Indian pharma firms--deals that will not only beef up its presence in the developing world but also broaden its portfolio of generic meds. Report
And Finally... What happens if the next big influenza mutation proves resistant to the available anti-viral drugs? This question is presenting itself right now to scientists and health officials this week at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, as they continue to do battle with H1N1 and prepare for the next iteration of the ever-changing flu virus. Release