@FierceBiotech: Fresh delay for Novartis's indacaterol app. Article | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Israel's Protalix looking to file on two more drugs by '16--Fabry disease and RA. Report | Follow @JohnCFierce
> The descendants of Fritz Hoffman-La Roche, founder of Roche, have lost their collective voting majority after Maja Oeri decided to exercise her rights as an independent stockholder. Oeri holds a 5 percent stake in voting, leaving the rest of the family with 45.01 percent. Report
> The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth will break ground on a $23 million biotech manufacturing demonstration center this year in Fall River, MA, and the plan has already received praise from neighbors of the project. The center is expected to create 8,000 jobs, $280 million in annual payroll and another $275 million in development investments. Item
> Buffalo, NY-based biotech Photolitec has received a $5 million influx from Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical of China. The company will receive $2 million upfront, with another $1 million available every year for four years, and additional funding could come based on the company's performance. News
> Boehringer Ingelheim has completed its acquisition of Amgen's manufacturing facility in Fremont, CA, which boasts 200,000 square feet for research, development and manufacturing work. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Boehringer release
> Cincinnati's AssureRx Health has closed an $11 million round of Series B financing, thanks to Claremont Creek Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, CincyTech and Allos Ventures. The company plans to use the funding for sales and marketing for GeneSightRx, its first product. AssureRx release
> Bob Ingram, a former GlaxoSmithKline vice chairman, Ralph Snyderman, former CEO of Duke University Health System, and former Eli Lilly president Vaughn Bryson have been tapped for PPD's board of directors. Stockholders will vote for the board members at a meeting May 18. Article
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: Does Steere's exit signal a new day at Pfizer? News | Follow @FiercePharma
> J&J pulls surgical products on sterility concerns. Article
> Jurors debate in GSK-Abbott drug-pricing dispute. Item
> Japan lets Pfizer, Sanofi resume shot sales. Story
And Finally... Researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have found a computer model that can predict the behavior of intestinal cells in mice to the natural chemical, tumor necrosis factor. Previous computer models have been able to show the behavior of lab-grown cells, but this is the first time modeling living cells in an organism has been successful. Story