> Nuvo Research is shaking up its management structure. Current CEO Henrich Guntermann will be based in Germany as head of European operations while the chairman and vice-chairman of Nuvo split his old role. "The changes announced today support our goal of becoming a diversified, profitable drug development company," said Dan Chicoine, who has been tapped as co-CEO along with John London. Nuvo release
> Human Genome Sciences plans to sell 12.5 million shares to advance its late-stage lupus program, Benlysta, and for other purposes. Shares of HGS, one of the country's hottest biotech stocks, slipped on the news. HGS report
> Denmark's Bavarian Nordic plans to raise $60.6 million from the sale of stock to existing investors. Story
> Micromet says it will pocket $7.5 million as Bayer Schering Pharma exercises an option to develop potential solid tumor treatments. Bayer entered the deal to use Micromet's BiTE antibody technology at the beginning of the year. Micromet release
> Xencor has licensed its XmAb and Xtend technology platforms to Centocor Research & Development. Xencor release
Pharma News
> Drugmakers, the taxman cometh. As if pharma didn't have enough bogeymen to worry about, right? PricewaterhouseCoopers is warning that as companies do the things they need to do to combat stagnant sales in the developed world, generic competition, pricing pressures, et al., they'll be creating bigger tax bills for themselves. Report
> The U.S. Supreme Court cast a gimlet eye on some of Merck's arguments in a shareholder lawsuit over Vioxx. Article
> As Pfizer lays off and shuts down in the U.S. and Europe, it will be beefing up big-time in Japan. Tapped today to lead Pfizer Japan, Ichiro Umeda told a press briefing that no jobs will be cut in his country as Pfizer absorbs Wyeth. The company needs those workers to handle sales of a wider product range. Report
> Sanofi-Aventis has confirmed that it's cutting back on sales, but no official word on just how many positions got the axe during yesterday's phone-call layoff marathon. Report
Research News
> A University of Michigan Health System study has found that female researchers are less likely to receive major federal funding than their male counterparts. Study
> Kangaroos: The next hope for skin cancer? Report
> A group of researchers at Boston University has mapped out key new insights into the command and control center of cancer cells, offering a new approach to identifying cancer cells and targeting them with new treatments. Article
> A research group at Harvard has developed a new approach to delivering therapeutic cancer vaccines, testing a small implant that contains tumor-specific antigens. The scientists say the implant, a small plastic disk that is about the same size as a fingernail, offers a more effective approach to delivering cancer vaccines than what's in the clinic today. Report
> The stimulus bill has showered the U.S. with billions of dollars in new scientific grants, including $274 million for scientists working in Michigan. Report
And Finally... The CDC says that swine flu appears to have peaked, but adds that hospitalizations and deaths are continuing to take a heavy toll among the young. Article