> Indian drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories voluntarily recalled four products from its key U.S. market as they had been observed to contain some oversized tablets. Report
> Pfizer got regulatory approval from both Chinese and Australian antitrust authorities for its $68 billion buyout of rival Wyeth. Report
> Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals' Nexavar cancer drug failed to slow the progression of breast cancer in the second of four studies that combine the medicine with different types of chemotherapy. Report
> Merck's appeal of a $4.5 million jury award to a New Jersey man who blamed his heart attack on the company's Vioxx painkiller was dismissed by an appeals court. Report
> Boston Scientific said it would pay a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary $716.3 million to settle 14 patent infringement lawsuits related to the use of stents in treating heart disease. Report
> Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB increased a six-year convertible bond offer to €450 million ($656 million) and said it could raise as much as €500 million to refinance debt. Report
> About 4 million people are now getting AIDS drugs worldwide--a 10-fold jump in five years--but 5 million others are still in dire need of the medicine, U.N. health officials estimated. Report
Biotech News
> Shares of Discovery Laboratories (DSCO) shot up 49 percent this morning after the Warrington, PA-based developer reported that the FDA termed its approach to resolving the agency's primary issue with its experimental drug Surfaxin as 'reasonable'--clearing the path to a potential approval. Report
> With its lead obesity drug poised to head to the FDA in search of an approval, Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) pulled the covers off promising Phase IIb data on a follow-up drug that's now pointed to a late-stage trial. Report
> Novartis took a big stride toward filing for approval on an oral therapy for multiple sclerosis, revealing that a two-year, Phase III trial for FTY720 produced solid evidence of its superiority to a placebo. Report
> Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) said that it has paid $115 million for the income rights for licensed and pipeline products of Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, which it acquired for $285 million in 2008. The buyout frees Valeant from up to $235 million in milestone obligations to Dow's former shareholders. Report
Manufacturing News
> Talk about a stressed-out PR department: Caraco (CPD) announced yesterday that it has entered into a consent decree with the FDA concerning its shut-down manufacturing operations in Detroit. The announcement follows by less than a week a release detailing the resignation of a member of its board. Report
> Sophisticated quality measurement technologies, as well as multinational investigative and research efforts, are being marshaled to ensure the quality of drugs, says the Canadian Health Products and Food Branch. Report
> A culture shift underway since 2003 at life sciences technology provider Millipore (MIL) is yielding big benefits, the company says. It has become both proactive and data-driven, with an emphasis on quality, and Six Sigma Green Belts at every location. Report
And Finally... Fifty-nine percent of U.S. mental health drug prescriptions are written by family doctors, not psychiatrists, raising concerns about the quality of some treatments. Report