Medtronic eyes rapid South Asia growth; AlterG launches bionic leg;

@FierceMedDev: Special report: Device-tax worries aside, major med tech mostly added jobs in 2012. Feature | Follow @FierceMedDev

@DamianFierce: How can early-phase CROs brave a tough market? We asked two of the biggest. Editor's corner | Follow @DamianFierce

@MarkHFierce: Orthofix is in trouble again, this time for not filing its financials on time. Press release | Follow @MarkHFierce

@MichaelGFierce: Last week's Chutes & Ladders roundup: Pharma veteran Jeffrey Jonas takes top spot at Sage & more in biotech/pharma hirings. More | Follow @MichaelGFierce

> Medtronic's ($MDT) Indian operations say they expect 20% growth in South Asia during the current fiscal year. Story

> Arizona's BioDirection has hauled in a $3.95 million Series A to develop its point-of-care brain injury screening device, Tbit. Release

> Women are far less frequently recruited to participate in medical device clinical trials than men, a longstanding trend that could be putting patients at risk. Article

> Illumina ($ILMN) has launched new reagent kits for its MiSeq gene sequencing device. More

> California's AlterG has launched its Bionic Leg, a battery-powered, wearable robotic training device for physical therapy. News

> Colombian regulators are simplifying their approach to medical device registration. Item

> VC operation Idea Fund Partners raised an $8.15 million equity round. The operation invests, in part, in medical devices and diagnostics. Item

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Will the biotech dealmaking lull extend through the rest of the year? More | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: Novartis lashes out at India's patent rulings, says country is losing R&D. But India clearly doesn't care about R&D. More | Follow @JohnCFierce

@RyanMFierce: Pfizer's social head touted some of the internal and external feats of the pharma giant. Article | Follow @RyanMFierce

@EmilyMFierce: Inovio vaccine kills malaria, boosts immune response in animals. Story | Follow @EmilyMFierce

> GTx shares eviscerated after muscle drug flops in PhIII cancer studies. Story

> New DMD data gives Sarepta an edge in GlaxoSmithKline showdown. Article

> Analyst lays out worst-case scenario for Dendreon. Item

Pharma News

@FiercePharma: Eli Lilly's $15B battle for longer Alimta monopoly hits court today. Article | Follow @FiercePharma

@EricPFierce: India to consider putting handcuffs on foreign investment to protect domestic generics market. Story | Follow @EricPFierce

@CarlyHFierce: Merck stops selling Zilmax to study livestock drug's safety; the drug added $159M to sales in 2012. News | Follow @CarlyHFierce

> FTC asks to file brief in Effexor case, testing Supreme Court's pay-for-delay ruling. More

> Merck stops selling Zilmax to study livestock drug's safety. Article

> Fresenius inks deal for 51% stake in Indonesian drugmaker. Item

CRO News

> Quintiles buying Novella with eye on emerging biotechs. More

> AMRI's shares crater as partner Bristol-Myers ditches depression drug. Article

> Risk-based monitoring could be a boon to CROs. Item

> Boehringer pulls plug on VA commercial plant. Story

> Express Scripts sells CRO biz to private equity outfit. More

> WuXi ratchets up expectations after banner quarter. News

> AMRI's shares crater as partner Bristol-Myers ditches depression drug. Report

Biotech IT News

> RTI wins NIH support to advance web-based toolkit for genetics research. News

> India's InterpretOmics scores $1.6M round to fuel bioinformatics biz. Report

> Pfizer taps online marketplace for outsourcing research. Story

> FDA's former IT boss nails down industry gig. More

> Certara, provider of drug research software, buys Michigan rival. Article