Dr Reddy's denies plans to sell stake to GSK; Fired Bristol worker stole secrets, feds say;

 @FiercePharma: Globes (Israel): Supreme Court bars Sun from buying more Taro shares. Article [1] | Follow @FiercePharma [2] 

> Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India's second-largest drugmaker, said the company doesn't plan to sell a stake to GlaxoSmithKline. Report [3]

> A fired Bristol-Myers-Squibb employee stole trade secrets from the drugmaker in a plot to launch his own pharmaceutical business in his native India, a federal prosecutor says. Report [4]

> Czech pharmaceutical manufacturer Medis International has opened a €7.7m packaging plant in Bolatice, Czech Republic to pack niche generic drugs it produces in North Africa. Report [5]

> Botox-maker Allergan said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 51 percent, driven by higher sales of its beauty products, but its forecast disappointed investors. Report [6]

> AstraZeneca is facing as many as 26,000 lawsuits over its antipsychotic drug Seroquel as the drugmaker prepares for its first jury trial over claims the medicine causes diabetes, according to court filings. Report [7]

> An appeals court upheld a decision in favor of Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit alleging the drugmaker misclassified sales reps as exempt from overtime pay. Report [8]

> India's Aurobindo Pharma got the FDA nod to manufacture and sell anti-allergic cetirizine hydrochloride solution, or generic Zyrtec, in liquid form. Report [9]

> Medicis Pharmaceutical got the FDA nod to add the pain drug lidocaine to wrinkle treatments Restylane-L and Perlane-L. Report [10]

> Dishman Pharmaceuticals, a contract research & manufacturing services company, has begun restructuring its Swiss subsidiary, Carbogen Amcis, which had dented its top line in the third quarter. Report [11]

Biotech News

 @FierceBiotech:  Reuters: Belgium's Taminco cancels IPO, cites poor market. Article [12] | Follow @FierceBiotech [13]

 @JohnCFierce: You have to give Schwan credit for R&D vision, but I still see Genentech losing more than Roche gains. Report [14] | Follow John on Twitter [15]

> Backed by promising data from 450 patients in seven countries, Lux Biosciences has rapidly marched from the clinic to regulatory agencies in Europe and the U.S. with a marketing application for Luveniq--LX211--as a new treatment for non-infectious uveitis. Story [16]

> Fueled by windfall profits from swine flu vaccine sales, GlaxoSmithKline reported a big spike in revenue for the fourth quarter. But Glaxo says it will stop R&D efforts in certain neurological areas, with work grinding to a halt in depression and pain, according to Bloomberg. Report [17]

> Faced with a series of disappointing trial results for its cancer drug picoplatin, a cash-strapped Poniard Pharmaceuticals has opted to axe more than half of its staff and named a new CEO to replace Jerry McMahon, who is staying on as nonexecutive chairman. Story [18]

> Signaling that Pfizer's "monolithic" approach to drug R&D is over, CEO Jeffrey Kindler laid out plans to carve $3 billion out of the newly merged company's budget for R&D as the pharma giant shifts away from its traditional reliance on in-house projects and opens itself more to partnerships and collaboration. Report [19]

Pharma Manufacturing News

> Some creative thinking in the business development group has positioned a maker of modernized traditional Chinese medicine for entry into the traditional medicinal liquor business. Report [20]

> Airlines are showing a kinder face to drugmakers than they have been to consumers recently. Cold chain initiatives are underway at major air carriers, thanks to the growing global market for pharmaceuticals. Story [21]

> The FDA's 2011 budget request, as reported earlier [22], includes $25 million for a 50-person regulatory science initiative to help the watchdog catch up with industry capabilities in the life sciences. Nanotechnology is a prime target for expertise development, according to the budget request, as is stem cell technology. Item [23]

> While the FDA studies up on nanotechnology and stem cells, assuming its 2011 budget request is approved (see related story [23]), the regulator will simultaneously update its drug review processes. Report [24]

> Better means of sharing cargo theft information came online this week. Freight carriers, shippers, insurers and law enforcement are collaborating on maintaining a database and secure network to help law enforcement react faster when thefts occur. Story [25]

> Pall Corp has unveiled the PallSep Biotech system for separating target molecules from process fluids via vibrating membrane filtration technology. Report [26]

Vaccines News

> Twelve years ago, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a study in the Lancet that linked autism with childhood vaccines, triggering an explosive controversy that continues to influence public opinion about the potential side effects of vaccines. Story [27]

> An experimental malaria vaccine originally developed by GlaxoSmithKline and the U.S. Army has produced dramatic results in an early-stage trial in Mali. Story [28]

> The nonprofit group PATH is seeking help from the FDA to develop a vaccine against diseases caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which kills almost 1 million children each year. Report [29]

> Paul Bogorad at Putnam Associates is bullish about the vaccine business. Report [30]

And Finally... In a new study, four of 23 patients diagnosed as being in a vegetative state showed signs of consciousness on brain-imaging tests. Report [31]