Dr Reddy's reports unexpected quarterly loss; Teva to donate $7M worth of meds to Haitian relief;

> India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories reported an unexpected loss for the latest quarter after incurring write-off related losses at its German unit and trimmed revenue growth forecast for this fiscal year. Report [1]

> Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced today that it will be donating over $7 million in medicine to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. Report [2]

> Forest Laboratories said its profit grew 12 percent in the fiscal third quarter due to stronger sales of its Alzheimer's disease treatment Namenda as well as newer drugs. Report [3]

> Novartis says Japanese authorities have approved three of its drugs for the treatment of diseases affecting millions in that country, the group's second-largest pharmaceutical market. Release [4]

> Novo Nordisk says Japanese health officials have approved its Victoza drug for treatment of Type 2 diabetes, and it would launch the product in the first half of 2010. Release [5]

> Drugmaker Lupin has received an FDA approval for its Mandideep facility, which had been the subject of a warning letter. Report [6]

> Switzerland's medical regulator recommended patients with serious autoimmune diseases should not use Novartis' H1N1 vaccine, saying there were no studies assessing the inoculation in that population segment. Report [7]

> Johnson & Johnson's Cordis unit has again sued Boston Scientific, claiming its Promus drug-coated stent wrongfully uses three of Cordis's patents without permission. Report [8]

> Endo Pharmaceuticals said it was reviewing and intending to defend against an attempt by a competitor to produce a generic version of Lidoderm, a skin patch for neuralgia pain. Report [9]

Biotech News

> GlaxoSmithKline is opening up its in-house R&D work involving more than 2 million molecules in hopes of spurring some fresh thinking on malaria vaccines. Story [10]

> Xconomy stuck its toe in the San Diego biotech waters and found that the job market appears to be heating up after a long chilly spell. Report [11]

> Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX) jumped 24 percent this morning after the developer reported promising signs that its Type 2 diabetes drug lowered blood glucose levels in a mid-stage trial. Story [12]

> A group of fiscal watchdogs for the Florida Legislature has been doing the math on the Sunshine State's $759 million investment in eight biotech campuses over the last six years. The payback: 1,100 jobs, without any significant clustering of biotech startups. Report [13]

> It's been more than two years since a Boston biotech went public, but now two are at the starting gate and a prominent local lawyer says he knows of six more that are actively laying the foundation for an IPO. Story [14]

> The pundits are working overtime this morning trying to assess the structural damage that Massachusetts voters inflicted on the healthcare reform bill yesterday. Report [15]

Manufacturing News

> Op-Ed: Tylenol has lost its way. Article [16]

> Drug company manufacturing operations are far from lean. In a long-term cross-industry study that uses inventory turns as an indicator, pharmaceutical companies hold the bottom spot. Article [17]

> Six biopharma companies have so far signed with Sharps Compliance Corp. to manage the return of syringes from consumers. Report [18]

> Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is fighting counterfeiters who have targeted its over-the-counter weight-loss product, Alli. GSK report [19]

> The yeoman wooden pallet, a trustworthy supply-chain agent for some 60 years, is under attack. Much of the public, thanks to most of the media coverage, has placed blame for the 50-million-unit J&J McNeil product recall on contamination caused by a chemical byproduct of a treatment used on pallet wood. Article [20]

And Finally... Are Omega-3 fatty acids an anti-aging tonic? Report [21]