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The company is considering cutting back its field force of about 14,600 by as much as one-third, the sources said.

Publicly disgraced after cardiologist Steven Nissen and his colleagues unveiled data on its cardiovascular risks in 2007, Avandia was withdrawn in Europe and put under tight rein in the U.S. Now, the FDA is revisiting the issue, and Nissen himself has issues with that.

Drugmakers forked over more than $1 billion to doctors last year, significantly more than reported in 2011. And that's only the amounts we know about. According to a new data analysis by PharmaShine, reported in the Financial Times, that figure only includes the 12 leading drugmakers that actually disclose physician payments.

Forest Laboratories will have a new CEO when 2014 dawns. Longtime chief Howard Solomon will step out of that role on Dec. 31, with plans to stick around as chairman till next year's annual meeting, and as a director for some time after that. In the meantime, Forest's search committee is hunting for a replacement, aiming to name someone before year's end.

Two Swiss billionaires--Ernesto Bertarelli and Hansjörg Wyss--have joined forces to buy out the former Merck Serono facility in Geneva.

Drugmakers know that specialty products are where it's at these days. A recent IMS Institute report showed the U.S. drug market shrinking for the first time last year. But spending on specialty drugs posted double-digit increases. Almost 20%, according to a recent Express Scripts report, in fact.

Amag Pharmaceuticals and partner Takeda have run into a snag in Switzerland. Japan-based Takeda is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug Feraheme, sold as Rienso in the Swiss market, after several reports of hypersensitivity reactions, one of them fatal.

Pfizer is cutting the apron strings at Zoetis. Just months after its highly successful IPO, in which Pfizer sold off a 20% stake, the animal health business is set to become fully independent. Pfizer is offering a stock swap to its shareholders, who can exchange $100 in Pfizer shares for roughly $107 worth of Zoetis stock.

The law includes safeguards, including requirements that terminally ill patients ask for the requisite drugs three times before they're actually dispensed.

So, do drug companies really spend more money on marketing than on R&D? In the Pipeline takes a look at that contention, and the cold hard facts are these: Probably not. But it's hard to tell for sure.