Sanofi wraps up Chattem tender offer; Gedeon Richter expects flat 2010 sales;

 @FiercePharma: Pfizer launches emerging-markets discounts. Report | Follow @FiercePharma

> Sanofi-Aventis completed its tender offer for shares of Chattem Inc., which makes Gold Bond skin products, Icy Hot pain relief packs, and Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo. Report

> Hungarian drugmaker Gedeon Richter's consolidated sales are expected to remain flat in 2010 as rising sales in the key Russian market will be offset by a projected decline in exports to the United States, Chief Executive Officer Erik Bogsch said. Report

> A New Jersey appeals court decided last week that a trial court should reconsider whether an expert should be allowed to testify in a lawsuit alleging the Accutane acne drug causes depression. Report

> Babies who die of sudden infant death syndrome may have low levels of serotonin, which helps regulating breathing and is involved in other vital functions. Report

> Workers with depression stay home sick more often than healthy colleagues, even when their disease is treated, according to a Thomson Reuters report. Report

Biotech News

 @FierceBiotech: Live from BIO CEO: Nile Therapeutics CEO discusses company's pipeline, plans. Article | Follow @FierceBiotech

 @JohnCFierce: Anyone notice how much more polished/careful executives become after they go public? Follow @JohnCFierce

> BIO chief Greenwood talks to FierceBiotech about healthcare reform, and maps asalvage plan for the 12-year umbrella. Article

> Novartis has signed a deal with Switzerland's Debiopharm to develop and market Debio 025 (alisporivir), an antiviral agent for hepatitis C. Report

> GlaxoSmithKline is beginning to detail plans to cut as many as 380 jobs at its R&D complex in Harlow, England. According to a Press Association report out this morning, GSK has begun a 90-day consultation process at the site, which employs 1,150 people. GSK article

> Amgen's denosumab was more effective than Roche's Zometa (zoledronic acid) in delaying fractures in men with advanced prostate cancer, according to results of 1,901-patient Phase III trial. In fact, denosumab outperformed Zometa by 18 percent in delaying the time before patients suffered a fracture or needed surgery or radiation treatment to ease bone pain, Bloomberg reports. Article

> In the course of reporting its fourth quarter earnings, Dutch biotech Crucell said that it plans to boost R&D spending by a third in 2010. Crucell item

Manufacturing News

> Ranbaxy has come up short in its responses to the FDA regarding GMP violations. A late December warning letter recently posted to the FDA Internet site says that the drug maker's "attempts to make global corrections after past regulatory actions have been inadequate." Ranbaxy article

> An anti-counterfeiting pilot project underway in Nigeria uses a cell-phone service for drug authentication. News

> While acknowledging that the global supply chain makes it impossible for FDA to "interdict everything harmful at our borders," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg last week unveiled a system that will improve interdiction efforts. Article

Research News

> The drug Dimebon, which has shown some significant promise for Alzheimer's, has now registered positive results in a trial designed to test the therapy's ability to improve thinking, learning and memory skills for people who suffer from Huntington's. Dimebon article

> A pair of top scientific institutes has agreed to license out flu antibodies they designed with the CDC to Roche and its subsidiary Genentech. Report

> Most available osteoporosis treatments can only prevent the breakdown of old bone. But an investigational drug that effectively cured osteoporosis in mice and rats in a study could point the way to a new class of therapies. Article

And Finally... High blood pressure is often a doctor's top priority for doctors, but pain and depression may be more urgent to their patients. Report