> Abbott Laboratories' Xience stent beat out Boston Scientific's Taxus products in a three-year study, with Xience patients suffering fewer heart attacks, deaths or repeat procedures. Report
> The American Medical Association is launching a probe of two JAMA editors' conduct after allegations surfaced that a study author failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest. Report
> AstraZeneca said an FDA advisory committee would review expanded use of Seroquel--treating schizophrenia in adolescents and bipolar mania in children and adolescents--at a meeting in June. Report
> Biogen Idec tapped Robert Hamm as its new chief operating officer, replacing Hans Peter Hasler; Hamm had been executive vice president for pharmaceutical operations and technology. Report
> Ranbaxy Laboratories posted a lost of $204 million for its fiscal 2008 on a 9.85 percent increase in revenues for the year. Report
> Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced two independent nominees to its board: Paul N. Clark, former chief of Icos Corp.; and Paulo F. Costa, former CEO of Novartis U.S. Release
> Akorn tapped CFO Jeffrey A. Whitnell to serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent chief. Report
> Taiwan's Cabinet wants to make biotechnology the country's third major industry in the next 10 years. To that end, it has proposed a $1.76 billion dollar VC fund. Report
> Germany's Evotec is cutting 50 jobs as part of a restructuring plan designed to "significantly reduce its operating costs." Cuts will be accompanied by a 10 percent reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses, and a 30 percent slash in R&D spending. Report
> The drop in in early-stage research is having a substantial impact on CROs. Report
> Osiris Therapeutics has ended enrollment in a late-stage trial of Prochymal for Crohn's disease, saying that it believes that a design flaw spurred an unexpected placebo response. And that placebo response, the company said in a statement this morning, would have prevented its therapy from achieving its primary endpoint. Report
> Several developers will put the FDA's tougher safety standard for diabetes drugs to the test in coming months as they push for a slate of new approvals. Report
> Shares of Belgium's Galapagos surged on today's news that researchers had pushed its experimental therapy for rheumatoid arthritis into a Phase I human trial. Report
> Shares of Dyax took a beating as the FDA refused to approve DX-88, the company's treatment for hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks. Report
And Finally... Greg Critser, author of Generation Rx, says drug companies have transformed themselves from science enterprises into consumer-goods companies. Report