> In another step toward resuming commercial manufacturing, KV Pharmaceutical is rehiring employees to produce verification batches of certain products. Report
> Shares of the Medicines Co. rose as much as 35 percent after it received a new patent for its anti-clotting drug, Angiomax, that may delay the onset of generic competition for the drug. Report
> After losing a manufacturing contract with Eli Lilly, Elan plans to cut 29 more jobs at its plant in Monksland, Ireland, on top of 80 job cuts earlier this year. Report
> More on Forest Laboratories' financial ties to doctors: The Pew Prescription Project reviewed Minnesota state documents to find that the drugmaker paid doctors there more than $750,000 last year. Report
> Roche won European approval for its MabThera cancer drug as a treatment for patients whose chronic lymphocytic leukemia returns. Release
> Merck launched its eye drug Saflutan in the U.K. and Spain, planning additional launches over the next several months. Release
Biotech News
> Shares of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals got a bump this morning after investors got a taste of positive mid-stage data on its brain cancer therapy Cotara. Its stock jumped 21 percent on the news that the interim numbers demonstrated efficacy in a small group of patients with glioblastoma multiforme. Report
> Danaher Corp. is paying $1.1 billion to buy up two companies which will significantly increase its presence in the business of marketing drug discovery tools. Once the deal is complete in the fourth quarter the businesses will be put under the umbrella of Danaher's medical technologies group. Report
> PTC Therapeutics has leveraged its know-how on small molecule drug development into two new discovery pacts. The developer raked in $12 million upfront to help Roche find four new drugs for CNS diseases with its Gene Expression Modulation by Small-molecules (GEMS) technology platform. Report
> Switzerland's Nitec Pharma says its new rheumatoid arthritis drug Lodotra posted positive results in a second late-stage trial. Report
Vaccine News
> A human vaccine to guard against the Hendra virus, which recently caused the death of an Australian veterinarian, may be 15 years and one billion dollars away, the renowned scientist Ian Frazer tells Australia's News.com.au. Report
> Both Merck and GlaxoSmithKline face a big day in front of an FDA expert panel next week. Glaxo will be making its case for Cervarix, a widely used vaccine designed to guard against cervical cancer that's been blocked from the U.S. market. Report
> Racing to produce a huge quantity of vaccine to fight an expected tsunami of swine flu cases this fall, Novartis says that a single low dose of its Celtura jab produced an immune response sufficient to protect the volunteers enrolled in a small trial. Report
> China's Sinovac Biotech has won swift approval to begin manufacturing the country's first swine flu vaccine. And the regulatory green light will likely be followed up in short order with a second approval. Report
And Finally... The number of under-18s in the U.K. being prescribed weight-loss drugs rose fifteen-fold between 1999 and 2006. Report