ALSO NOTED: FDA, Researchers butt heads over genetic screening;FDA approves Omrix's Evithrom;

> Perhaps this is a taste of genetic-screening battles to come: researchers at the University of North Carolina are questioning the FDA's genetic screening guidelines for the cancer drug Camptosar. The agency recommends that patients be checked for genes that make them susceptible to harmful side effects, but in a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers found that the troublesome genes only increase the risk of side effects at high doses of the drug. Report [1]

> Omrix Biopharmaceuticals got a boost yesterday with the FDA's approval of Evithrom, a protein used to control bleeding during surgery. It's the first human thrombin product approved since 1954. The product will be distributed by Johnson & Johnson. Release [2]

> The FDA has accepted Merck's new drug application for its cholesterol drug Cordaptive, a form of niacin designed to raise levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol. The company expects regulatory action on the remedy by second quarter 2008. Release [3]

> The oral form of Pharmion's blood disorder remedy Azacitidine stepped onto the FDA fast track today. The drug is already approved in its injectible form, sold as Vidaza. Release [4]

And Finally... Democrat John Edwards proposed raising the cancer stakes first. Now, GOP candidates Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney are pitching in with their own proposals to boost federal spending on cancer research and prevention. Report [5]