ALSO NOTED: Sandoz launches generic Epogen; Sun gets FDA nod for Protonix;

> File in the "Great Timing" drawer: Sandoz says it's launching a generic version of the embattled Amgen drug Epogen in the U.K. and Germany in coming weeks. Report

> Sun Pharmaceuticals got the FDA nod for its generic version of the Wyeth heartburn drug Protonix, which posts annual sales of about $2.3 billion. A federal judge last week refused Wyeth's plea to stop generics companies from making the drug. Report

> Abraxis Pharmaceutical Products got a tentative thumbs-up from the FDA for its generic form of Kytril, which treats side effects of cancer therapy. Report

> Upstart Validus Pharmaceuticals has bought the rights to the bipolar disorder drug Equetro, aka carbamazepine, from Shire. It's part of Validus' strategy of buying and/or licensing mental health drugs that it thinks have been underutilized. Report

> Generics maker Actavis has filed for certification of a copycat version of King Pharmaceuticals' Avinza, technically covered by a patent that doesn't expire till 2017. Report

And Finally... Morphine gives the Japanese heebie-jeebies: Doctors think it's too addictive for use except by the dying, and patients fear it because it's associated with death. Article