> Key players in Congress are planning to introduce a bill expressly allowing injured patients to sue device makers, in opposition to a Supreme Court ruling last year. Report
> Public Citizen chief Sidney Wolfe has asked the FDA's Janet Woodcock for post-marketing studies on Eli Lilly's anti-clotting drug candidate Effient and for an explanation of Dr. Sanjay Kaul's last-minute removal from an advisory committee convened to discuss the drug. Report
> One of the largest clinical trials to compare stent therapy with traditional heart bypass surgery in patients with severe heart disease has found that those receiving stents were not at higher risk for having a heart attack or dying and were less likely to suffer strokes. Report
> A Justice Department inquiry into Stryker's marketing of human bone growth products has resulted in guilty pleas by former company sales representatives. Report
> An experimental oral vaccine has demonstrated that it may be able to protect people from an anthrax attack. This experimental vaccine is loaded onto bacteria found in dairy products to escape the normal physical traps that typically inactivate oral vaccines. Report
> Sanofi-Pasteur has launched a clinical trial in Thailand to test a tetravalent vaccine for dengue fever, the world's second most common tropical disease in children. Report
> In a new sign of a growing trend in biotechnology, Cadence Pharmaceuticals scored $86.6 million in a private placement of shares snapped up by a lengthy list of venture investors. Report
> Japan's Eisai has forged a €95 million licensing deal with Portugal's Bial to market the anti-epileptic Zebinix in Europe following an approval. Report
> Maybe Roche won't have trouble raising funds for its planned $42 billion buyout of Genentech after all. The company sold $16 billion in corporate bonds to help finance the acquisition, one of the largest corporate bond sales on record. Report
> Princeton, NJ-based Sopherion Therapeutics has rounded up $55 million in a Series C led by Zoticon Bioventures. Report
> The U.S. drug industry has shifted most of its clinical trials to overseas sites in a trend that experts warn raises serious ethical concerns. Report
And Finally ... Does mental illness disrupt sleep, or does disrupted sleep trigger mental illness? Report