Hospira gets FDA nod for Taxotere knockoff; Purdue lobbies Florida on pain pill mills;

@FiercePharma: Lilly CEO: No need for megadeals, we have Japan. Story |  Follow @FiercePharma 

> Hospira has won approval for the first U.S. generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' big-selling Taxotere cancer drug. The news sent Hospira shares up 2 percent. Report

> Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the pain drug OxyContin, offered Florida $1 million to set up a controversial computer system that would help crack down on pill mills. News | Story 

> Merck is launching a major corporate social responsibility initiative, reports PRWeek, focusing on the company's role in global health. Article

> A settlement in a class-action lawsuit over Solvay Pharma's hormone replacement therapy has produced a financial windfall for four Nashville organizations. Story

> A federal panel meets Thursday to evaluate growing concerns about whether anesthesia in young children, used in millions of surgical procedures, can lead to cognitive problems or learning disabilities. News

> Is a medical journal ad for platelet-inhibition testing backed up by evidence that treatment guided by such testing can reduce the risk of clot formation? Report

> Researchers have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), or so-called mad cow disease, a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. Article

> The Obama administration is asking a federal appeals court in Atlanta to act swiftly on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the government's healthcare overhaul. Story

> An FDA advisory panel said genetic tests directly marketed to consumers should be allowed only under a doctor's supervision. Item

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Analysts jolted by Pharmasset's stellar data on combo hep C treatment. News | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: In the meantime, I'll be taking off for Rome tomorrow, on way to BIO Europe for biotech panel discussion. Follow @JohnCFierce

> ARYx Therapeutics will close shop after FDA delay scuttles financing. News 

> Europeans inject $241M into new round of development projects. Report 

> Benlysta: Timeline of a lupus drug. Story

> Bill Gates backs fledgling computational drug discovery upstart. Item 

> Evotec teams up with Harvard, HHMI on diabetes drugs. Report 

Vaccines News

> Cancer vax developer Kite lands $15M. Story

> Gates steps in to vaccine VC with $10M investment. Item 

> Virus present up to one month after Zostavax immunization. Report

> BiovaxID gets EMA orphan status. News 

> Japan: No link between child deaths, vaccines. Article

Manufacturing News

> Bill elevates drug theft to organized crime status. News 

> FDA works to avert cancer drug shortage. Report 

> J&J shortage links eBay to drug supply chain. Item 

> Study finds fuzzy price/drug-quality link. Report 

> Demand, speculators threaten Chinese medicine plants. Article 

And Finally... From birth through old age, Americans have poorer health than their British counterparts, a new study finds. Report