Lawmakers push academic detailing; Merck, Gilead team up on AIDS drug;

> Congressional reps introduced a bill in both chambers to launch a federal "academic detailing" program to give physicians and other prescribers  an objective source of information on prescription drugs. Report [1]

> Merck and Gilead Sciences said Friday they will collaborate on the distribution of HIV drug Atripla to 12 countries, primarily in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Report [2]

> Bayer tapped Greg Babe as president and chief executive officer of its U.S. subsidiary, effective Oct. 1; he replaces Attila Molnar, who is retiring. Report [3]

> India's Sun Pharma is trying to allay fears that it may shut down the Taro plant in Israel and cut jobs once it takes over the company. Report [4]

> Sanofi Pasteur began shipping its first 1.3 million doses of Fluzone influenza vaccine in the United States for the 2008-2009 season. Report [5]

> Novartis shifted its U.S. media buying and planning duties, including digital chores, to Mediaedge:cia from MindShare; both shops are units of WPP Group. Report [6]

> Heightened media attention to the financial ties between vaccine makers and the physician groups that advocate their use appears to be encouraging a growing number of parents to skip the jabs for their kids--at a cost. Report [7]

> The deeply confused state of HIV vaccine research was underscored by NIAID chief Anthony Fauci's recent decision to halt a planned human trial of an experimental jab. Report [8]

> Acambis is plotting its growth strategy after Sanofi Pasteur's $549M buyout. Report [9]

> An experimental vaccine created from genetically engineered plant cells appears to be effective against the Black Plague, which has bedeviled the world for centuries and is listed as a top bioterror threat. Report [10]

> The start-up Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals has gained $21.5 million in its Series A round. Report [11]

> The long dry spell for new drug approvals has actually worsened a bit. In Vivo notes that the FDA approved six new molecular entities in the first half of the year, down one from the dreadful pace set in 2007 [12]. Report [13]

> AtheroGenics also saw its stock price soar yesterday. Researchers for the company say that both doses of AGI-1067 [14]--75 mg and 150 mg--hit their primary endpoints in a late-stage trial for diabetes. Report [15]

> A late-stage study of Ark Therapeutics' gene therapy for cancer posted significant survival benefits for volunteers with operable high grade glioma, sending its stock soaring 69 percent on the news. Report [16]

And Finally... Eradicating the Heliobacter pylori bug in patients with stomach cancer cut the risk of recurrence by two-thirds. Report [17]