> Sober news from Genentech today: A fatal case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, has cropped up in an arthritis patient treated with the blockbuster drug Rituxan. Report
> There's another big executive departure coming in the world of Big Pharma: this time it's Christine Poon (photo), vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson and worldwide chair of its pharmaceuticals division. Poon, 56, plans to retire on March 1, J&J announced today, saying that it will announce a succession plan "in a timely fashion." Report
> Isogenica has signed a licensing agreement J&J's Centocor which grants Centocor the non-exclusive right to use Isogenica's CIS display technology for the discovery of certain therapeutic proteins. Release
> Vanda Pharmaceuticals met with the FDA to discuss the non-approvable letter it received for iloperidone. The company says it has now agreed to provide a complete response to the FDA. Release
> BioAdvance, the Biotechnology Greenhouse of Southeastern Pennsylvania, has doled out seed-stage investments totaling $1.5 million in three emerging life sciences companies--Formae, Niiki Pharma and Phoenix S&T. Release
> Remember the FDA's push to expand its staff by some 600 positions and fill hundreds more that had gone vacant? Well, now the agency says it's achieved its goal with 1,300 new people on the payroll. FDA report
> Scientists at Oxford University are testing a new universal flu vaccine that targets the internal proteins of the virus, which change very little from one strain to the next. Report
> There's been quite an uproar this year over the supposed safety risks presented by vaccines and concerns that a number of parents are avoiding the jab to protect their children. But the CDC--which has raised its own concerns on the subject--says that the vast majority of parents are still doing the right thing and getting the whole list of vaccinations recommended for their children. Vaccine report
And Finally... Amgen is playing friendly banker to some of its laid-off employees who've also had the bad fortune to see their home values going the way of most housing prices these days: downward. Article