> A U.S. appeals court will rehear a fight between GlaxoSmithKline and the patent office over new rules aimed at cutting a backlog of patent applications; previously the court had sided with the patent office, upholding most of the rules Glaxo opposed. Report
> Teva Pharmaceutical Industries stopped shipping a generic version of Johnson & Johnson's birth control pill Ortho Tri-Cyclen, pending a patent hearing next week. Report
> Canada's Apotex is asking a U.S. court to rule that it did not infringe Eisai's patents on Aricept, the world's No. 1 Alzheimer's disease treatment, in hopes of winning FDA approval to market its generic version of the drug. Report
> OSI Pharmaceuticals plans to consolidate its U.S. operations onto a single site in Westchester County, New York, by the fourth quarter of 2010, aiming to save $15 million per year. Report
> Novartis's Rasilez (a.k.a. Takturna) has been approved to treat high blood pressure in Japan, alone or in combination with other antihypertensives. Report
> India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries got the FDA nod to launch its generic version of AstraZeneca's prostate cancer drug Casodex. Report
> Bayer filed for U.S. approval for a new birth control pill it started to market in Europe in May to shore up its best-selling contraceptives business. Report
Biotech News
> The venture arms of two big pharma companies co-led an $18 million Series B for Viamet Pharmaceuticals. That money will be put to use advancing Viamet's technology platform for shutting down metalloenzymes--enzymes that need metal present to start a chemical reaction--which play a key role in disease. Report
> Catalyst Biosciences is on a roll. A week after announcing a new collaboration pact with Wyeth, Catalyst today unveiled a research and licensing pact with MedImmune that is worth up to $195 million in upfront fees, employee support and milestones. Report
> Denmark's Lundbeck has had a busy day. On the biotech front, the pharma company announced that it is buying NeuronIcon-a small developer focused on new treatments for brain damage--for an undisclosed sum. The company also forged a deal to buy the UK's LifeHealth for $147 million in cash, expanding its interest in Xenazine, a new treatment for Huntington's disease. Report
Manufacturing News
> As a result of the mid-June Genzyme plant shutdown, which brought a halt to the manufacture of enzyme-replacement treatments Cerezyme and Fabrazyme for Gaucher disease and Fabry disease, respectively, the FDA has approached Protalix to start providing its experimental Gaucher's disease therapy prGCD to patients under an expanded access program. Report
> Novasep, a producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and purification technologies, has acquired Henogen, a contract manufacturing organization that provides bioprocess development and manufacturing services. Report
> Netherlands-based semiconductor company NXP has announced an effort with Siemens on a pharmaceutical RFID-based supply chain. Report
And Finally... The Journal of the American Medical Association is backing off a controversial policy to gag anyone complaining about study authors who fail to disclose conflicts of interest. Report