Baxalta ($BXLT) laid off 267 workers in California, according to local reports. The company cut employees from its facilities in Los Angeles, Van Nuys, Hayward and Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Star. Baxalta is preparing to merge with Shire ($SHPG) in a $32 billion deal expected to close this summer. The layoffs are not related to the merger, Baxalta told the Star. More
@FierceBiotech: EuroBiotech Report: Genfit bags €50M as IPO plan simmers; British biotechs form cancer JV; Zealand drug fails PhII. More | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Tim Anderson is digging deep to find cause to believe that Merck's anacetrapib PhIII could be +; would certainly surprise the hell out of me. | Follow @JohnCFierce
> GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) picked 6 winning proposals in its Discovery Fast Track Challenge, partnering with investigators in Europe and the U.S. on early-stage ideas for drug programs. News
> Novo Nordisk's ($NVO) blockbuster diabetes treatment Victoza lowered the risks of heart attack and stroke in a 9,000-patient trial. Story
Medical Device News
@FierceMedDev: IYCMI: FDA approves Gore's endoprosthesis for iliac artery aneurysms. Article | Follow @FierceMedDev
@EmilyWFierce: AZ stokes $45 billion sales hopes with expanded approval for breast cancer drug Faslodex. FiercePharma story | Follow @EmilyWFierce
> Siemens Healthcare CEO: restructured unit 'hungry' for M&A deals. Report
> Zimmer partners with orthobiologics startup to sell its fracture, bone-void products. More
> Open-science nonprofit trots out promising data from study of iPhone app for Parkinson's. Article
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: Pet obesity on the rise as owners treat animals like humans: Report. FierceAnimalHealth story | Follow @FiercePharma
@EricPFierce: ICYMI from FiercePharmaManufacturing: France finds potentially tainted heparin being made by China manufacturer. Article | Follow @EricPFierce
@CarlyHFierce: Teva's Treanda follow-up faces uphill climb as payers get tough on 'me-too' drugs. Article from FiercePharnaMarketing | Follow @CarlyHFierce
> Victoza comes up big for Novo with heart-risk lowering data. Story
> AZ stokes $45 billion sales hopes with expanded approval for breast cancer drug Faslodex. More