GSK gets European nod for Alli; Smith & Nephew claws back $141M from Plus deal;

> GlaxoSmithKline got the go-ahead to market its non-prescription weight loss pill alli (orlistat) in Europe; the drug has already been on sale over the counter in the US for over year. Report

> Under clawback provisions in its deal to buy Plus Orthopedics, device maker Smith & Nephew renegotiated the purchase price downward by SFR 159 million Swiss ($141 million) to SFR 927 million. Report

> Baxter International reported fourth quarter net income of $569 million, up 19 percent from the same period last year, with estimate-beating EPS of 91 cents. Report

> Ranbaxy's mark-to-market losses on derivatives contracts pushed its fourth-quarter net 6.8 billion rupees into the red, despite a 6.4 percent rise in sales to 19.1 billion rupees. Report

> India's Cipla posted fiscal third-quarter profits of 2.23 billion rupees, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier, on a 26 percent rise in sales to 12.64 billion rupees. Report

> Merck's diabetes drug Januvia substantially improves blood sugar levels over two years of treatment when combined with the older drug metformin and is generally well tolerated, new data on Tuesday showed. Report

> Roche got the E.U. nod to sell its rheumatoid-arthritis drug RoActemra, underlining the drug maker's strong position in a sector suffering from lack of innovation and the loss on patents of big money-earners. Report

> Health Canada approved Pfizer's Zeldox (ziprasidone hydrochloride) for treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder. Release

> Novartis launched Extavia, the new branded follow-up to multiple sclerosis treatment Betaferon, in Germany and Denmark. Report

> GlaxoSmithKline is set to build a $69 million plant in England, where its Ribena-brand fruit drinks will be bottled. Report

> Singapore's S*BIO has inked a $112.5 million development deal for a multi-kinase inhibitor program. In S*BIO's second collaboration announced this month, San Diego-based Tragara Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay an unspecified upfront fee plus development and sales milestones. Report

> The Wall Street Journal takes a close look at Biogen Idec's preclinical program for a new drug designed to repair the damage wrought by multiple sclerosis. Report

> Roche has won final European approval to market RoActemra, a potential new blockbuster therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Report

> Myriad Pharmaceuticals is paying $7 million to acquire an experimental HIV therapy from Panacos. Report

> ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals' lead program--omacetaxine--has won the FDA's orphan drug designation for the treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Report

And Finally... The birth control pill was introduced more than 40 years ago, but big questions still remain about its effects on women's cardiovascular risks. Report