> Blaming "administrative issues," the FDA has pushed it's review of Auxilium's Xiaflex back to September. Auxilium release
> Seattle Genetics has initiated a Phase II trial of SGN-35 for anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Release
> Norway's Lytix Biopharma and Korean's KAEL-GemVax today have signed a collaborative agreement to test lead compounds LTX-315 and GV1001 as a combination therapy for the treatment of cancer. Release
> Johnson & Johnson says the Federal Trade Commission ended a regulatory review of its acquisition of Cougar Biotechnology, allowing the deal to proceed. Report
> The global recession and a slowdown in the domestic market impacted the Indian biotech industry last fiscal year, resulting in a year-on-year growth of 18 per cent, down from 34 per cent notched in 2007-08. Report
Pharma News
> Just a year after swallowing the $7.4 billion Barr Laboratories buy, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is ready to make another deal. CEO Schlomo Yanai told Bloomberg that he's looking for acquisitions--and not just generics firms. Report
> It had to happen: Big Pharma's tax deduction for DTC ads has entered the health-reform debate. Rep. Charles Rangel, chair of House Ways and Means, says Congress could yank that tax break to help raise $37 billion toward reform costs. Report
> The media may be salivating after a Sanofi-Aventis megadeal, but Chris Viehbacher (photo) maintains that he isn't. Report
> The legal community is closely watching AstraZeneca's ongoing defense in Seroquel product-liability suits. Litigation Daily has proclaimed the Seroquel troubles a "mass tort that wasn't," plaintiff's lawyers came out of the woodwork to protest. Report
Vaccine New
> A group of five nations has joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to offer advance guarantees for new vaccines that can guard against some of the most common diseases seen in developing countries. Collectively, they are investing $1.5 billion. Report
> The U.S. government has yet to say whether or not it will roll out a mass vaccination program against swine flu this fall, but it appears increasingly likely. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that schools will be a logical place to start. Report
> The U.S. government has yet to say whether or not it will roll out a mass vaccination program against swine flu this fall, but it appears increasingly likely. Read more...
> Sanofi-Aventis has decided to reserve 10 percent of its total production of swine flu vaccine for poor countries, an offering that will provide 100 million jabs of the new vaccine. Report
And Finally... Pharma goes to Hollywood: Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway plan to star in the film version of an ex-Pfizer rep's tell-all memoir, while Reese Witherspoon has signed on to "Pharm Girl," a comedy about climbing the ladder at a big drugmaker. Report | Report