@FierceBiotech: Still trending: Merck scores 'breakthrough' status from FDA for immunotherapy against melanoma. Report | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Lotso chatter about tivozanib this morning. Personally, I suspect the FDA will give it an OK, then Aveo will face a kickback in commercial. | Follow @JohnCFierce
@RyanMFierce: Treato scores $14.5M VC round, tackles social media analytics for pharma. Release | Follow @RyanMFierce
> Galapagos NV plans to raise about $52 million to fund new drug deals as well as pursue later-stage clinical R&D activities. Story
> Novartis ($NVS) CEO Joe Jimenez says the company has begun working on an H7N9 vaccine, adding that new technology will make it possible to whip up a new vaccine for clinical trials in "six to eight weeks." Story
> Retrophin has named Horacio Plotkin as chief medical officer. He'll be based in Cambridge, MA, where Retrophin plans to open an office for its clinical, medical, and regulatory operations. Release
> Daiichi Sankyo has stepped in to support an early-stage study of PER977, an experimental drug from Perosphere designed to reverse the anticoagulant activity of edoxaban, Daiichi Sankyo's investigational oral, once-daily, direct factor Xa-inhibitor. Release
@FierceMedDev: Missouri Sen. accuses medical equipment companies of wasteful billing. Item | Follow @FierceMedDev
@MarkHFierce: Today's DxExtra: a look at a UK effort to develop an early pancreatic cancer Dx tool. Article | Follow @MarkHFierce
@DamianFierce: Mounting recall charges ate away Stryker's modest revenue growth in Q1. Report | Follow @DamianFierce
> CardioDx reaches to India with Core partnership. News
> Cook recalls Zilver PTX over delivery problem. Story
> Boston Scientific loses $354M in Q1. Article
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: Check out Argentina for pharma market growth: New research forecasts $15b by 2020, up from $5.6b last year. More | Follow @FiercePharma
@EricPFierce: Government-funded vaccine plant in Thailand draws the attention of corruption investigators. Report | Follow @EricPFierce
> U.S. feds launch probe into AstraZeneca plant in U.K. Article
> New Bristol-Myers drug growth cushions plummeting Plavix sales. More
> Analysts skeptical as AstraZeneca sales, earnings sink. Report
Vaccines News
> Possible measles-related death in Wales as outbreak spreads. Item
> Novartis expands cell culture site to bolster biodefense. News
> China's response to H7N9 earns WHO praise. Story
> No link between vaccines and Guillain-Barré in big study. Article
> Panacea Biotec accused of selling expired vaccines. More
Pharma Manufacturing News
> FDA gets Corning to refine agency-designed counterfeit drug scanner. Item
> Eisai building plant in China to manufacture parenteral products. Story
> AstraZeneca hears from prosecutor, not FDA, about cGMPs at U.K. plant. Report
> BD quickly rolling out second drug from new injectables plant. Article
And Finally… Right now the mortality rate for H7N9 is 21%, and with human immunity to the virus still very low, health officials expect to see the death toll rise. Story