Iressa plaintiffs appeal Tokyo court ruling; Merck to keep some Netherlands jobs;

@FiercePharma:  Rejected Valeant aims to replace Cephalon board. Story | Follow @FiercePharma

> Plaintiffs seeking compensation over side effects from AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug Iressa have appealed last month's Tokyo District Court decision, which ordered damages to be paid only to some of the complainants. Report

> Merck, which last year said it would close three research sites in the Netherlands, has decided to keep about half of the research and development jobs. News

> Gilead Sciences, known for selling HIV drugs, increased the prices of several of its top selling products at the beginning of the month, by up to 7.9 percent. Item

> Shire Pharmaceuticals is taking Watson Pharmaceuticals to court claiming that the U.S. generics group has infringed patents for its attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall XR. Article

> Salix Pharmaceuticals is extending an agreement with an Indian pharmaceutical partner to give it exclusive global rights--except for India--to a key drug-delivery technology. Story

> Health experts renewed their warnings that new forms of bacteria able resist virtually all known antibiotics are spreading quickly, posing a global health threat. News

> Under instructions from FDA, U.S. Marshals seized a variety of potentially contaminated antiseptic products, cough and cold meds, nasal sprays and more from Wisconsin's Triad Group and H&P Industries. FDA release

> Elan stock rose the most in three months after a Berenberg Bank analyst said the share price doesn't recognize the value of multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri and the potential for a proposed Alzheimer's treatment, bapineuzumab. Report

Biotech News

 @FierceBiotech: Struggling Capstone delays key data analysis on lead drug. News | Follow @FierceBiotech  

 @JohnCFierce: Zacharon prepares to announce a $210M rare disease partnership with Pfizer. Story | Follow @JohnCFierce

> XenoPort rockets up after FDA approves Horizant for RLS. Story 

> SuperGen snags UK's Astex in a $55M M&A deal. Item

> Pfizer inks $210M orphan drug discovery pact with Zacharon. Report 

> AZ wins tightly-limited FDA OK for new thyroid cancer drug. News 

Vaccines News

> Nuron buys Hib vaccine from Wyeth, plots relaunch. Story 

> Biovest sees new opportunities following bankruptcy. Article 

> Dana-Farber finds new AIDS vax target. Report 

> Intercell and Novartis collaborate on Pseudomonas vax. Item

Manufacturing News

> Canine recruited in counterfeits fight. News

> Draft gives non-penicillin ops guidance. Article 

> Sweet deal keeps Bayer in NJ. Item 

> DHL teams for frozen shipments. Report

> HealthSport buys SMI assets. Story 

> Ningbo warning letter in line with FDA agenda. Article 

And Finally... To help monitor use of high-powered pain drugs, some doctors ask patients to sign "pain contracts" or "opioid treatment agreements" that spell out the rules patients must follow to take these drugs safely. Report