> Indian pharma regulators are asking the government for an across-the-board duty slash on medicines in critical segments such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. Report
> Hospira shares rose after a U.S. District Court ruled a generic injectable chemotherapy drug does not infringe on Sanofi Aventis' patent for Eloxatin. Report
> A former Pfizer sales manager was sentenced to a $75,000 fine and two years' probation after pleading guilty to charges stemming from off-label marketing of the painkiller Bextra. Release
> Canadian experts say 5-to-40-year-olds and Canada's aboriginal communities should be first to get vaccinated against human swine flu, as officials decide who gets priority for the shots. Report
> Gedeon Richter, Hungary's largest drugmaker, could boost its annual sales by $25 million, or 2 percent, after its licensing agreement with U.S.-based KV Pharmaceuticals. Report
> Pfizer has accused Sun Pharmaceutical of infringing a second patent on Lyrica, which Sun wants to produce in generic form. Report
> Meanwhile, Sun Pharmaceutical got the FDA nod to launch a generic version of Pfizer's blood pressure drug Accupril. Report
> The European Medicines Agency has kicked off a period of public consultation on its new policy on transparency, which is designed to foster "a robust and consistent approach" throughout the group's operations. Report
> Merck and the not-for-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative announced an agreement to support development of improved treatments for neglected tropical diseases such as Chagas disease. Release
Biotech News
> It pays to be married to a Google co-founder. 23andMe, a genetics company started by Google co-founder's Sergey Brin's wife Anne Wojcicki (photo), has landed a $2.6 million investment from the Internet giant. This comes in addition to $3.6 million in funding invested in May 2007. Report
> A new survey from Deutsche Bank gives some insight into what's on the mind of life sciences investors. Respondents offered expectations on a number of companies, including Celgene, Genzyme, Biogen Idec, Acorda Therapeutics, United Therapeutics and Amgen. Report
> Swiss biotech company Lumavita has tacked on an additional CHF6m ($5.53 million) to a Series A round initiated in September 2008. Report
> Cephalon announced today that its drug candidate lestaurtinib missed its goal in mid-stage trial designed to evaluate the drug for use in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia whose cancer had relapsed after a previous treatment. Report
Biotech IT News
> Healogica-Clinical Trials 2.0 is up and running. The website acts as a monster.com for clinical trials by pairing subjects and trials via a matching algorithm. Report
> Perceptive Informatics has bulked up its ClinPhone Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM) technologies with a reporting solution that help users monitor trial progress and access study data and metrics. Report
> As if to compound the already tricky task of selecting a cloud computing vendor, we now appear to be receiving at least one announcement each week. Most recent is IBM, which has announced a set of commercial cloud services and integrated products for the enterprise. Report
> INC Research is incorporating Phase Forward's InForm Integrated Trial Management EDC solution into the global CRO's offerings. Report
And Finally... MRSA infections between dogs and cats and their owners are increasing, according to a review in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Report