> Industry watchers can't resist identifying takeover targets for Big Pharma. This week, the Motley Fool's radar is picking up Sepracor--which announced layoffs yesterday after a few tough quarters. Report
> Look no further for a couple of gaping holes in our drug-safety fabric. Chinese regulators may be cracking down on some drug-safety violations, but plenty of chemicals companies aren't even being watched. Stateside, the FDA is struggling to track foreign drug makers--and that not very successfully. Report
> Researchers for Amylin and Alkermes say that the closely watched trial of the slow-release form of Byetta delivered positive preliminary data. Release
> NPS Pharmaceuticals announced today that Nycomed, after a review of the results from the recently completed Phase III study in Short Bowel Syndrome, has confirmed it will proceed with the development and commercialization of GATTEX (teduglutide) outside North America. Release
> Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have added to the store of knowledge linking dopamine to obesity. Report
> Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a new target for drug developers out to control obesity and diabetes. Report
> Patients are using cholesterol and blood pressure meds earlier and earlier--so much so that growth in sales to young folks is outpacing the growth of sales to seniors. Report
> When John Edwards knocked drug companies for spending "twice as much" on marketing and administration as on research, he perpetuated a myth popular amongst pharma naysayers, Fortune magazine says. Report
And Finally... A new report from Consumers International says big drug makers are buying washing machines, laptops--even domestic cattle--to woo physicians in India, Pakistan and elsewhere. Report