Piramal to put $2.5M in ADC site; India lifting ban on API expansion;

> A top Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) executive said the time it can take to get foreign manufacturing plants approved by the FDA could pose a stumbling block to the agency's expansion of breakthrough designation for drugs. Story

> A new report from CPhI found that less than 25% of API manufacturers surveyed are using outside auditors for quality certification even though regulators in the U.S. and Europe are encouraging them to go that route. Release

> Piramal Healthcare will spend about $2.5 million to expand its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing suites at a facility in Grangemouth, Scotland. Release

> The state government of Andhra Pradesh in India, an area that includes Hyderabad, will lift a ban on expansion of API manufacturing imposed 6 years ago in an effort to deal with pollution. Story

> Several shareholders and former officials with National Respiratory Services in Lexington, KY, have pleaded guilty in charges of selling subpar and super-potent compounded drugs to patients and then charging Medicare for the cost of non-compounded, prescription drugs. Release