> Johnson & Johnson and Watson Pharmaceuticals locked in a patent dispute over J&J's blockbuster attention deficit med Concerta, are weighing their options after a federal court ruled a key patent on the drug is invalid. Report
> Some former regulators and pharma execs are asking that a share of the $19 billion in health IT stimulus money be awarded to the FDA to upgrade the agency's outdated systems. Report
> The recession has not slowed Canadians' consumption of prescription drugs: They are popping pills at a rate of almost $60-million a day, newly released figures show. Report
> Cazenove upgraded GlaxoSmithKline to "outperform" from "in-line," based on upside from Glaxo's pipeline and the company's attractive risk profile. Report
> Bristol-Myers Squibb was cut to "market perform" by Sanford C. Bernstein, which considers the prospect of a takeover by another pharma firm to be fading. Report
> The number of patients abandoning their prescription drug treatments spiked 34 percent according to a Wolters Kluwer report. Report
> Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca won a crucial FDA expert panel vote backing their diabetes blockbuster saxagliptin. Report
> The pioneering Icelandic biotech deCode Genetics is on the financial hot seat, saying that it doesn't have enough money on hand to make it through the year. Report
> Despite cutbacks caused by a drop in early-stage research, a new report finds that the global CRO market is poised to grow 14 percent per year over the next three years. That would make contract research a $35 billion industry by 2013. Report
> Pain management company Anesiva says its auditors have issued a going-concern notice to the company after the company said it doesn't have enough funds to complete development of its only drug, Aldea. Report
> Researchers for Elan and Wyeth have decided to drop the highest dose of their Alzheimer's drug bapineuzumab from two late-stage studies after determining that patients in the study were at risk of swelling of the brain. Report
> Shares of Canada's Labopharm tanked this morning after the developer said that its twice-daily pain med failed to hit its primary endpoint in a late-stage trial, setting up a likely rejection at the FDA. Report
> Officials are reporting that the number of children infected with Hib, or Haemophilus influenzae type b, continue to rise due to a shortage of Merck's childhood vaccine. Report
> The FDA has approved Novartis' application to market the vaccine Ixiaro to guard against Japanese Encephalitis, spurring speculation that the regulatory win might inspire Novartis to move to acquire the vaccine developer that pushed it through early-stage discovery. Report
And Finally... Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appears to be headed for confirmation as HHS secretary, but Republicans objected to an immediate vote, so the Senate is unlikely to take up the nomination until later this month. Report