GSK nabs another 95M vaccine orders; NICE reverses course to OK Lilly's Alimta;

> GlaxoSmithKline reported a big jump in swine flu vaccine orders to 291 million doses, including 50 million earmarked for donation to WHO. Report

> Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog changed its mind on Eli Lilly's drug Alimta and now plans to recommend its use within the state health service as a treatment for lung cancer. Report

> Novo Nordisk posted a 44 percent rise in earnings to $790.6 million and raised its yearly forecasts. Report

> Biovail swung to a second-quarter profit on Thursday helped by lower expenses and said it would buy back up to 10 percent of its shares. Report

> King Pharmaceuticals posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by strong revenue and cost savings from its Alpharma acquisition. Report

> Baxter International completed its first commercial batches of H1N1 vaccine in late July and is discussing distribution plans with national health authorities. Report

> Novartis said the EU approved Afinitor for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cancer. Report

> Alapis Holdings, a Greek maker of drugs and veterinary products, fell 10 percent in Athens trading after the company said it plans to sell 451 million euros ($650 million) of shares to existing stockholders. Report

> An Egyptian court found the owners of three pharmaceutical companies guilty of manufacturing and selling counterfeit drugs to the public. Report

> Swiss pharmaceutical firm Lonza is continuing its expansion in China with the start-up of the second phase of its large-scale API facility in Nansha. Report

> Two new studies cast serious doubt on a widely used and expensive treatment for painful fractures in the spine. Report

> Sales of rapid flu tests are soaring but they may fail more than half the time to detect swine flu infections, new studies show. Report

> Nigeria's state of Kano on Thursday withdrew its criminal case against Pfizer following an out-of-court settlement over a 1996 meningitis drug trial. Report

Biotech News

> Struggling pain management company Anesiva has been rescued from possible bankruptcy through a merger with Baltimore-based Arcion Therapeutics, a privately held company. Merger report

> Upon announcing its quarterly results, Altus Pharmaceuticals said the company will not be able to fund its operations beyond Q3 if it's unable to secure cash soon. Altus release

> New Haven, CT-based Rib-X is touting results from a Phase II clinical trial of radezolid, a treatment for mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia. Though Rib-X has raised $148 million in the last eight years, it still needs more money to expand the drug to Phase III trials. Report

> Xconomy writer Luke Timmerman profiles the small Seattle-based biotech OncoGenex, which is developing prostate cancer drug OGX-011. Report

Vaccine News

> Shares of Novavax spiked 21 percent after the company announced that it was able to create a swine flu vaccine with its virus-like particle technology in only 11 weeks. Report

> Spurred by the sudden clamor for a huge supply of swine flu vaccine, the world's leading vax manufacturers have started shipping supplies of seasonal flu vaccine weeks ahead of schedule. Report

> Novartis has begun testing a new swine flu vaccine in a clinical trial, but says it expects to get the jab on the market long before the study winds up a year from now. Sanofi-Pasteur, meanwhile, expects to launch human trials in a matter of days. Report

And Finally... Hispanics who move to the U.S. are at greater risk for cancer than those living in their countries of origin, whether Mexico, Puerto Rico or Cuba. Report