Amylin defends Byetta to skittish investors; AstraZeneca awaits committee say on Seroquel;

> Amylin Pharmaceuticals is trying to halt a sliding stock price by asserting that its long-acting diabetes drug does not share the same cancer risk observed in a similar drug from competitor Novo Nordisk. Report [1]

> Scientists from British drugmaker AstraZeneca will try to convince an FDA advisory panel today that the schizophrenia drug Seroquel should be approved for millions more patients who have depression. Report [2]

> HRA Pharma has signed a marketing and distribution agreement with Nycomed, under which Nycomed will distribute and market HRA's next-generation emergency contraceptive ellaOne (ulipristal acetate) in the Nordic and Baltic territories. Report [3]

> Aurobindo Pharma got its first product approval from Swissmedic, for its version of Finasteride APL, a treatment for enlarged prostate. Report [4]

> Uluru, a specialty pharmaceutical company, has signed a non-binding offer letter to acquire York Pharma, a UK-based skincare company with operations or distribution networks throughout Europe. Report [5]

> Joshua Boger has made a prominent reputation for himself as founder and CEO of Vertex [6]. Now he offers some advice for others who want to follow the same biotech path. Report [7]

> While threatening note-holders with a bankruptcy filing, Epix Pharmaceuticals is offering cash and stock in exchange for $100 million in convertible senior notes. And in a separate announcement, Epix said that it had sold U.S., Canadian and Australian rights to an imaging agent to Lantheus Medical Imaging for $28 million. Report [8]

> At Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes' R&D day, CEO David Broecker is shifting the spotlight to its pipeline programs as it nears the launch of a mid-stage trial for a new addiction therapy. Report [9]

> Berkeley, CA-based Aerovance has closed on a two-tranche, $38 million financing round with some top biotech investors. Report [10]

> In a significant new step toward repairing spinal cord damage, researchers have successfully used new viral technology to deploy genetically engineered cells that spur the regrowth of corticospinal motor axons. Report [11]

> Dietrich Stephan was a founding scientist at the $90 million Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. Now he has ambitious plans to establish a $245 million research institute in Northern Virginia that would recruit 500 top scientists to spearhead pioneering work on personalized drug therapies. Report [12]

> After a long period of relative neglect, neuroscience is gaining a big share of the federal research budget. And the New York Times highlights one program that raises the possibility that a molecule could make it possible for someone to eliminate a painful memory of a fear, a loss or even an addiction. Report [13]

And Finally... Damage to HIV patients' immune systems is happening sooner now than it did at the beginning of the epidemic, suggesting the virus has become more virulent, according to a new study. Release [14]