Dr Reddy's to buy Russian drug portfolio; Glenmark to ramp up on Salix HIV drug;

  @FiercePharma: Merck amps up in China with Simcere JV. Report | Follow @FiercePharma

> India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories agreed to buy JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals' drug prescription portfolio in Russia and several other countries in an approximately $34.9 million deal. Report

> Salix Pharmaceuticals has updated its supply agreement with India's Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to increase manufacturing of its HIV-associated diarrhea drug, Crofelemer. Article

> According to results from a Japanese study, Bayer's Xarelto blood thinner wasn't associated with a higher risk of bleeding for irregular-heartbeat patients compared to the previous standard of care, warfarin. Item

> GlaxoSmithKline sued Watson Pharmaceuticals to protect the patent on its prostate drug Jalyn, which Watson is seeking FDA permission to copy. News

> Victory Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company with operations in Cary, NC, and San Diego, will eliminate 179 positions when the sale of its assets to Shionogi wraps up. Report

> Valeant Pharmaceuticals got Canadian approval for its sleep drug Sublinox, to be marketed in a joint venture with Meda. Release

> Sanofi said it has appointed Greg Irace to the role of senior vice president, global services; he is currently CEO of Sanofi's U.S. operations. Report

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Bristol-Myers snapping up Amira Pharma for $325M. Item | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: Government pledging to overhaul rules on human research. From the NYT. Story | Follow @JohnCFierce

@RyanMFierce: John Halamka has a very lucid explanation for why Harvard Med School needs a full time CIO, NGS demands, storage, etc. Blog post | Follow @RyanMFierce

@MaureenFierce: FDA rejects new use for J&J immune disorder drug Simponi. News | Follow @MaureenFierce

> Government officials try to simplify the rules on human research. Article

> Analysis: Grim stats on CNS drugs demand fresh approach to development. Report

> Medicis inks $58M dermatology pact with India's Lupin. Piece

Biotech IT News

> Harvard Med School CIO Halamka exiting big job. Story

> Biomax Informatics expands deal with Royal DSM. More

> Mayo Clinic eyes future trial recruitment with health data exchanges. Report

> Bioinformatics upstart Intervention Insights secures $7.2M. Article

Medical Device News

> Nevro lands $58M for pain devices. More

> St. Jude to cut 450 Swedish Jobs. Release

> King's College spins out Centron Diagnostics. Story

> Imperial Innovations invests $6.5M in Stanmore Implants. Article

> Drew Medical's Dinkel banned from Medicare business. News

And Finally... Arthrosclerosis, which causes heart disease, can also result in dementia, researchers found. Report