> Basilea says that the FDA has accepted J&J's "complete response" to its queries for the experimental antibiotic ceftobiprole. A regulatory delay on the antibiotic last year triggered a sharp drop in Basilea's share price. Report
> A group of Chinese vaccine experts have signed off on a new swine flu jab from Hualan Biological Engineering and a final decision is expected in three days. Yesterday the group gave Sinovac Biotech a green light for its new swine flu vaccine. Story
> Germany's Evotec has completed its acquisition of a stake in Research Support International, a discovery and development company in India. Release
> Intrexon acquired the lease and much of the equipment belonging to Avalon Pharmaceuticals' bioassay facility in Germantown and plans to keep it open. Report
> Dr. Robert Burns, the former CEO of Celldex Therapeutics, has been named CEO of Affitech. Dr Alexander Duncan, previously SVP Biopharmaceuticals for AstraZeneca - Medimmune, also joins Affitech today as senior vice president of research and development. Release
> Regado Biosciences released positive results from a Phase IIa clinical trial of their lead product, the anticoagulant system REG1, at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. Release
Pharma News
> Worst-case scenario types, listen up: If U.S. healthcare reform yields a national health plan that offers little patient choice on drugs, then pharma companies would be in a world of hurt. Report
> All the blood-thinner action at the European Society of Cardiology meeting has heads spinning. And no one's heads are spinning faster than those at Eli Lilly. News
> In a blow to combo cholesterol pills, researchers found that there's no proof that two cholesterol drugs are better than high doses of one. Article
> Drugmakers are spending more time on lobbying these days, and not just politicians. Of necessity, pharma has focused more of its marketing efforts not on the docs that prescribe the drugs, but managed care and pharmacy benefit plans that decide which to pay for. Report
Research News
> A drug that targets a newly discovered genetic master switch which controls the formation of fat tissue would be able to prevent obesity as well as a host of ailments like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, says a team of researchers at the University of Central Florida. Report
> The once red-hot California market has turned ice cold, and the sudden change in the economic climate on the West Coast has afflicted the state's ambitious plans to boost stem cell research work. Article
> Working with scientists at Japan's Okayama University, San Diego-based AntiCancer has been working on a new technique that will make cancer cells fluorescent--making it easier for specialists to spot and remove them during surgery. Report
> An international team of scientists that paired researchers in Texas and Japan has identified a small molecule therapy which tinkers with the genetic machinery involved in the way the body turns food into fat. Report
> By taking adult stem cells from patients with Type 1 diabetes and reprogramming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, scientists have been able to watch as the disease develops. Report
And Finally... It turns out that people who are lost really do walk in circles. Story