La Jolla shareholders to vote on dissolution; Biocartis raises $15M;

> Shareholders of Las Jolla Pharmaceuticals are set to vote on a final dissolution of the company, distributing some $4.4 million in cash net of liabilities. Report

> Switzerland's diagnostics company Biocartis SA, has rounded up close to $15 million in a Series A equity financing round. Release

> Aquarius Equity Partners has led a £2.6 million round for the UK's Retroscreen, a CRO focused on anti-viral work. IP Venture Fund joined the round. Story

> In a revised pact with Pfizer Canada, Paladin Labs is taking control of all commercial responsibilities for the Estring estrogen product. Story

Pharma News

> Mark your calendars: One of the biggest pharma mergers in history is set to close today. Report

> Roche posted a 9.7 percent boost in third-quarter revenues to $12.2 billion and raised its full-year sales forecast. The impetus: Strong sales of its anti-influenza med Tamiflu, plus growth in use of the cancer blockbuster Avastin. Roche earnings

> Abbott and J&J Q3 earnings numbers warn pharma to diversify. Abbott earnings

> Count generic drugmakers among the opponents of the recently-approved Senate Finance Committee healthcare reform. Report

> The folks in Lafayette, IN, are hailing drugmaker Eli Lilly right now. Rather than closing a manufacturing plant there as planned, the drugmaker found a buyer, saving some 700 jobs. Lilly report

Vaccine News

> With virtually round-the-clock swine flu news on cable these days, all sorts of news organizations are taking a crack at analyzing the business side of the pandemic equation. Report

> Dendreon stock jumped on the addition of 'heavyweight' board appointments. Report

> Vaccine manufacturers have a lot riding on the mass vaccination campaigns being rolled out around the globe. And not the least of their worries is the level of resistance health officials will face as they start inoculating people. Report

> Ann Arbor, MI-based NanoBio continues to rack up new, non-dilutive injections of cash to advance its vaccine adjuvant work. Report

And Finally... The post mortems on the Thai HIV vaccine trial continue to pour in following the revelation in the New York Times that AIDS researchers briefed on the results found out that a separate--and initially undisclosed--analysis of the trial data came up with a more modest efficacy rate. Article