> Quoting sources, Reuters reports that the UK's York Pharma has started new merger talks with a British company after a deal with Uluru fell apart. The skincare specialist needs to repay a million pounds advanced by Uluru. An analyst speculated that IS Pharma and Futura Medical would be a good fit. Report
> PPD has canceled plans to occupy a facility at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis after construction delays slowed development efforts. PPD had planned to employ 300 people at the site. Company spokesperson Sue Ann Pentecost said that "developing, constructing and recruiting tenants has gone much slower than we expected. We understand this is the results of the economic conditions and the global financial crisis." Story
> Yesterday's news that Jazz Pharmaceuticals' fibromyalgia drug delivered promising preliminary late-stage data has fueled a rapid rise in the company's stock. Jazz shares were up 62 percent today. Story
> Takeda Pharmaceuticals is facing a likely delay at the FDA for its diabetes therapy alogliptin, leaving the Japanese company without a replacement for Actos, which loses patent protection in 18 months. Report
> Dyax is raising $14 million in a share offering. Report
> Less than three months after winning FDA approval, a U.S. immunization panel has put the Japanese encephalitis vaccine Ixiaro on a list of jabs recommended for American travelers. Article
> Labopharm has restructured its loan agreements, giving it some new financial flexibility. Labopharm release
> AEterna Zentaris has received $10 million from institutional investors. Release
Pharma News
> The numbers are here! Those of you who follow pharma marketing will hit the jackpot today, now that Advertising Age has released its 2009 list of the top 100 advertisers. This year, that list includes 14 Big Pharmas. Report
> Check out the "most popular" lists at Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch applications store, and you'll see that Health-related apps are among the top sellers. But as Eye on FDA notes today, Big Pharma is woefully behind the times when it comes to app development. Report
> Air that dirty laundry, FDA. That's what folks told the agency yesterday at a task-force meeting on "transparency." Experts, doctors and consumers alike told the agency that the public deserves to know more about how FDA makes decisions that affect which meds are used and how. FDA report
> Merck's quest to expand the use of Gardasil to boys may have hit a snag. A new study by Harvard researchers found that vaccinating all boys with the human papillomavirus shot may be less cost-effective than for girls. Gardasil report
Manufacturing News
> With its manufacturing plant out of commission being decontaminated, Genzyme has said the virus causing the contamination might have come from an unnamed vendor. Report
> No large pharmaceutical companies are ready with everything in place to meet upcoming serialization requirements, and less than half are either planning for or taking any action to prepare to meet requirements. So say respondents to a UPS survey. Report
> ISPE is offering content from its conference held earlier this month. Some speakers were recorded and the content is accessible as downloadable webinars. Content was also delivered virtually via live webcasts and live online speaker presentations. Report
Polar Speed Distribution has selected 4S eLog software to optimize its management of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical distribution warehouses throughout the U.K. Article
> The mPedigree program aims to shore up the drug supply chain in sub-Saharan Africa in ten years. Report
And Finally... Japanese regulators have approved the country's first biosimilar, a human growth hormone from Novartis AG. Report