> Ascent Therapeutics is making its debut as the "pepducin company." Report
> IDM Pharma says that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has recommended granting a centralized marketing authorization for mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE) for the treatment of patients with non-metastatic, resectable osteosarcoma. Release
> Galapagos has struck new collaboration agreements with Merck Serono. Total value of the contracts for Galapagos is EUR 1.1 million over one year. Galapagos' service division BioFocus DPI will provide SoftFocusCopyright compounds for use in Merck Serono's drug discovery programs. In a separate agreement, BioFocus DPI will perform medicinal chemistry services on an undisclosed Merck Serono program; this represents an extension of a long running collaboration which was last expanded in 2005. Release
> Maybe Amylin Pharmaceuticals isn't so bad off after all. With Carl Icahn boosting his stake in the company and Byetta sales reversing their downward slide, industry observers are taking another look at the embattled company. Report
> Chutes & Ladders: PDI has named Nancy Lurker as chief executive. Report
> Today's Wall Street Journal dissects a familiar drug-pricing strategy: pre-patent-expiration sticker shock. On the table is the Cephalon narcolepsy treatment (and sometime cognitive booster) Provigil. Report
> A team of scientists led by James Collins, a professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, has followed a trail of genetic clues to determine exactly how antibiotics kill bacteria. Report
> Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a method to reduce the production of alpha-synuclein in the brain. Alpha-synuclein is a protein that is believed to be central to the cause of Parkinson's disease. Release
> Renowned Australian scientist Ian Frazier says he's preparing to start clinical trials on a new skin cancer vaccine. Report
> The University of Michigan is preparing to start a search for four top stem cell scientists. And that's just the beginning as the university heralds the passage of a new state law taking the wraps off of embryonic stem cell research. Report
> Tibotec recently announced positive results from a phase 3 clinical trial, which compared PREZISTA (darunavir)/ritonavir to lopinavir/ritonavir, as part of HIV combination therapy, in lopinavir/r-naive, treatment-experienced HIV-1 infected adults. Release
> Genentech announced another case of progressive multifocal leukoencaphalopathy, the potentially deadly brain infection, in a 73-year-old women who used its Raptiva psoriasis treatment. Report
> A Johnson & Johnson online ad has captured headlines all over the place. Too bad it's the wrong kind of headline. The online commercial looked to promote the Motrin painkiller to new moms. But its flip approach got them all riled up instead. Report
And Finally... While we were watching Wyeth v. Levine have its day in the U.S. Supreme Court, another Wyeth case hit the California appeals courts--and what happened there stunned drug-law types. Report