J&J profits down, but top expectations; Study: ED drug users still see well;

> Johnson & Johnson profits beat analyst estimates, though net income fell 2.5 percent to $3.5 billion on a year-over-year basis. Report [1]

> Healthy men who took Cialis or Viagra daily for six months did not develop any significant vision problems, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a company-funded study aimed at addressing concerns about the popular impotence treatments. Report [2]

> Roche sued Mylan to prevent it from selling a generic version of the Xeloda breast cancer treatment. Report [3]

> AstraZeneca has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle as its global real estate advisor, Property Week reports. Report [4]

> Fresh side-effect problems have emerged with Novartis' experimental oral multiple sclerosis drug FTY720, with doctors reporting a case of hemorrhaging focal encephalitis. Report [5]

> The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India plans to start a nationwide mass media consumer campaign to create awareness about drug pricing and the availability of low-cost drugs. Report [6]

> Connecticut-based Marinus Pharmaceuticals has secured $20 million in a fresh round of financing. The company, which is developing drugs to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders, previously raised a $29.5M Series A in 2005. Report [7]

> RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals is undertaking a cost reduction program that will decrease salaries of almost all executives and staff by 35 percent. Meanwhile, consulting and contract manufacturing company PharmEng International announced that its CEO Alan Kwong will take a 50 percent salary reduction. Report [8]

> In 2008, China-based WuXi PharmaTech spent $151 million to buy Minnesota-based medical research group AppTec. Execs said the buyout would give WuXi entrance into the U.S. market and access to AppTec biologics manufacturing operations. What they didn't see coming was the global economic crisis. Report [9]

> Thanks to the Association for the Accredidation of Human Research Protection Programs, Pfizer now holds the title of the first pharma or biotech company to have its Phase I human research trials accredited for ensuring protection of human trial participants. Report [10]

> Canadian researchers say that a harmless and quite common virus could offer a new and effective approach to eliminating breast cancer stem cells--a prime target in the fight against the lethal disease. Report [11]

> Chinese scientists have developed new eggs in mice using stem cells extracted from their ovaries. And the same approach could eventually offer a new way to treat infertility in women. Report [11]

And Finally... An explosion in C. difficile infections illustrates the threat of "superbugs" created by antibiotic overuse. Report [12]