> Caraco Phamaceutical said it cut 430 more jobs as it deals with an FDA consent decree that prevents it from manufacturing its products until the agency and independent experts give it the go-ahead. Report
> A new free-trade agreement between the E.U. and South Korea could benefit European drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis by negating tariffs between the two regions. Report
> The FDA has sent a warning letter to Sanofi-Aventis accusing the French drugmaker of distributing misleading promotional material on its Uroxatral treatment for urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate. Report
> The European Union has approved Novartis' Ilaris to treat children and adults with a rare but potentially fatal inflammatory disease. Report
> Cephalon reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit on higher sales, lower costs and lower tax expenses related to a legal settlement, and the company issued a 2010 earnings forecast in line with diminished Wall Street estimates. Report
> Microbix Biosystems, a small Canadian biotechnology company, said it would partner with a state-owned Chinese drugmaker to build Asia's largest flu vaccine plant. Report
> Bank Hapoalim analysts predict Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will purchase a company in the first half of 2010 to boost long-term growth. Report
> A three-judge panel reversed a $7 million judgment against Roche over alleged side effects of Accutane. Report
> The U.S. government may end up throwing away unused doses of swine flu vaccine if people cannot get it soon enough, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Report
Biotech News
> PPD has pulled off a triple play, announcing in a string of releases that it acquired a large contract research organization in China, plans to invest $100 million in Celtic Therapeutics as it sets the stage for a strategic alliance, and is spinning off its compound partnering business into two new companies. PPD article
> Vienna-based Nabriva Therapeutics has rounded up $22 million in new venture backing for its work on developing a new class
of antibiotics for serious infections caused by resistant pathogens. Nabriva report
> Vertex (VRTX) has unveiled a fresh set of interim trial data supporting its quest to prove that telaprevir can significantly improve the cure rate of patients with hard-to-treat cases of hepatitis C--and go on to become a megablockbuster. Report
> SciClone Pharmaceuticals' decision earlier this month to suspend its mid-stage pancreatic cancer trial for RP101 will cost the jobs of 17 percent of its U.S. workforce. Article
> AstraZeneca's string of regulatory successes has been broken--snapped by its decision to pull marketing applications in the U.S. and Europe for the cancer drug Zactima. Report
Manufacturing News
> Caraco limps along following its September agreement to an FDA consent decree. Report
> Needlestick prevention has also become an objective for the venerable EpiPen: An update of the auto-injector includes needle protection before and after use. Article
> A ready-to-fill syringe having integrated passive safety features within the glass barrel is heading to market. Article
> Novavax, Xcellerex double-team H1N1. Report
And Finally... Healthcare's two biggest lobbyists--PhRMA's Billy Tauzin and insurers' advocate Karen Ignagni--are key to the president's reform hopes. Report