ALSO NOTED: GSK to invest $47M in Irish plant; AstraZeneca, GSK get downgraded;

> GlaxoSmithKline is set to create 50 new jobs in Dungarvan, Ireland, over the next three years with a $47 million expansion of its over-the-counter manufacturing facility there. Report [1]

> AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline saw their stock ratings cut at J.P. Morgan yesterday, to "underweight" from "neutral"; the Wall Street firm judged the drug makers' long-term earnings predictions to lack credibility. Report [2]

> Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley double-upgraded Novartis' stock to "overweight" from "underweight," citing positive news from the Swiss drug maker's vaccines division. Report [3]

> Fund manager Capital Group recently cut its stake in AstraZeneca to the extent that it's no longer the drug maker's largest shareholder for the first time since AZ's creation via merger in 1999. Report [4]

> Ahmedabad, India-based Lincoln Pharma is setting up a joint venture with an unidentified U.S. company to make tablets, capsules, and ointments at a new manufacturing plant. Report [5]

> Belgian healthcare group Omega Pharma reported lower-than-expected first quarter sales of $308 million because of a decline of domestic revenues in Spain. Report [6]

> Further solidifying RNA's "next big thing" status, GlaxoSmithKline and Regulus Therapeutics today announced a $600 million alliance to discover, develop and market microRNA-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Report [7]

> Dynavax's shares took a beating this morning after the FDA placed a clinical hold on the company's trial of Heplisav, a hepatitis B therapy. Report [8]

> India-based drugs have made a name for themselves as makers of copycat drugs. But some of these companies are shifting gears and developing their own drugs from scratch. Report [9]

> After observing serious safety problems in a Phase II trial, Wyeth and ViroPharma are dropping development of HCV-796. Report [10]

> Want to get a good forecast of the influenza strains Americans, Europeans and other people around the globe need to guard against? Then look to Asia. Report [11]

> Researchers are hot on the trail of a cheaper, easier HPV vaccine. Report [12]

And Finally... An FDA-approved drug used to treat Lou Gehrig's disease, Rilutek (riluzole), may slow the growth of melanoma. Release [13]