> AstraZeneca faces a delay in marketing its asthma treatment Symbicort to young children in the U.S. as the FDA has demanded more information on use of the drug in 6 to 11-year-olds. Report
> Cephalon said it plans to ask U.S. regulators to approve its narcolepsy drug Nuvigil for the treatment of sleepiness associated with jet lag. Report
> United Drug's contract packaging business is expected to report a significant dip in profits but strong performance in the sales division helped push up its share price. Report
> India-based contract manufacturer Shuasun Chemicals and Drugs shut its Annan, Scotland, manufacturing facility to cut costs. Report
> Taro Pharmaceutical Industries got final FDA approval for its version of the Novartis epilepsy drug Tegretol XR (carbamazepine extended release tablets). Report
> With cash on hand to last it several years, Cambridge, MA-based Inifinity Pharma has laid out an aggressive growth plan that it says will put its first drug on the market and three other candidates in trials by 2012. Report
> The Irish division of GlaxoSmithKline is facing "major economic difficulties" and is coming under mounting pressure from its owner to reduce overheads and strip down costs. Report
> Gilead Sciences says that its treatment for resistant high blood pressure met the primary endpoint in the first of two Phase III studies. Report
> Less than two months after announcing a 3 percent workforce reduction in its preclinical services unit, Charles River Laboratories say it has inked an agreement to acquire Piedmont Research Center. Report
> An expert FDA panel delivered a split vote on whether the agency should approve Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug liraglutide in light of data that the drug caused thyroid tumors in rodents. Report
> Dan Getman, former site director of Pfizer's St. Louis operations until his recent retirement, has been named the leader of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Inc. Report
> Clinical Data is moving forward with its initiative to sell off some of its assets in order to advance its late stage drug development programs. Report
> In a pipeline update released today, Pfizer said Phase III clinical trials for two new molecular entities. Report
> PhRMA honored the Merck researchers who helped discover and develop the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil with the 2009 Discoverers award. Report
And Finally... All these big biopharma buyouts are swiftly eliminating scientists from the top posts of the world's biggest--and most successful--drug developers. Report