ALSO NOTED: Boston Sci reports $495 million loss; FDA on the fence about Requip XL;

> Boston Scientific reported a $495 million loss for 2007, on a 6.9 percent increase in revenues to $8.357 billion; drug-coated stent sales worldwide dropped to $1.788 billion from $2.358 billion, a 24 percent decrease.  Release

> The FDA delayed its approval decision on Requip XL, a reformulation of GlaxoSmithKline's Parkinson's drug, dealing a blow not only to GSK but to its partner SkyePharma. Report

> Alpharma says it's selling its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients business to a private equity firm for $365 million. Release

> Altus Pharmaceuticals saw its shares rise on news that its president and chief executive, Sheldon Berkle, had resigned. Report

> Shares of UK biotech CeNeS Pharmaceuticals rocketed up almost 70 percent after the developer confirmed that it's engaged in talks with a mystery suitor. Report

> The UK's Wellcome Trust says it will pump up its research spending by 60 percent over the next five years as it ambitiously seeks a better understanding of diseases at a genetic level. Report

> Buried in the modest 5.7 percent budget hike for the FDA is a provision that the government will seek authority to begin approving generic versions of biologics. Report

> PDL BioPharma has auctioned off two marketed drugs and two experimental therapies as it restructures in the face of some severe criticism over how it's been managed. Report

And Finally... Need a handy-dandy breakdown of presidential candidates' positions on Pharma-related issues? Here you go. Report