> Shares of Elan and Biogen Idec were on the rise this morning after the two developers announced that they had submitted Tysabri as a therapy for Crohn's disease. Report
> Affymax priced its IPO of 3.7 million shares at $25 a share. Release
> Advancis Pharmaceutical has filed for FDA approval of its antibiotic, Amoxicillin Pulsys, 18 months after it was pummeled by investors following the drug's failure in clinical trials. The company's Pulsys technology provides patients with doses of therapy throughout the day. Advancis--which mounted a new trial for the therapy--wants the FDA to approve the antibiotic as a once daily therapy for strep throat, compared to the standard treatment of amoxicillin three times a day. An approval could come in October. Report
> Chutes & Ladders: Sanofi-Aventis has named research director Gerard Le Fur as its new CEO. Report
> The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has reversed its stand on Tarceva and recommended Roche's therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy. Report
> Lipoxen has agreed to license its PolyXen technology to Baxter International to boost the effectiveness of its hemophilia drug Factor 8. Lipoxen gains a million dollars up front and up to $75 million in milestones. The CEO of Lipoxen also said he expects to sign more of these drug pacts. Release | Report
> Merck has blueprinted a $100 million expansion of its North Carolina vaccine operation. Report
> Omrix has priced its offering of 2.25 million shares at $32 a share and expects to raise $44.4 million from the offering. Release
> Schering-Plough has reformed its corporate governance rules, ending the board's right to launch a poison pill defense against a hostile takeover and changing the way directors are elected. Report
> Canada's MethylGene announced that after reviewing its recent R&D successes in its small molecule oncology programs, it will not pursue additional clinical trials for MG98, its second generation antisense compound targeting DNA methyltransferase. Release
> Antisoma has raised £26.3 million in an offering. Report
> A University of Minnesota Cancer Center study has found that children who beat leukemia are living longer lives. Report
> Does the FDA do enough to regulate drug ads? The GAO doesn't think so. Report
And Finally… U.S. breast cancer rates plunged 15 percent from mid-2002 to the end of 2003, and experts believe that the sudden reversal in cancer rates could be attributed to the sudden drop in the use of hormone therapy for menopause. Article