> KV Pharmaceutical shares dropped almost 39 percent after the troubled drugmaker reported financial difficulties--and concerns about its future--to regulators. Report
> Health Canada is probing whether drugs produced by Apotex are safe after U.S. regulators found "significant deviations" from good manufacturing practices at one of the company's key facilities. Report
> India's Wockhardt agreed to sell its nutrition business to Abbott Laboratories for a reported $130 million. Report
> Sun Pharmaceutical posted a sharp plunge in quarterly net profit, weighed down by the recent seizure of its unit's medicines by FDA on manufacturing violations. Report
> GlaxoSmithKline pulled its application for European approval of its experimental drug mepolizumab, or Bosatria, as a treatment for a rare blood disorder called HES. Report
> The U.S. National Institutes of Health stopped a trial of the drug sildenafil--the active ingredient in Pfizer's Viagra--saying it caused serious medical problems in sickle cell patients. Report
> Dr Reddy's may overtake Ranbaxy Laboratories to become the largest Indian pharmaceutical company in terms of sales by the end of this fiscal year. Report
Biotech News
> Biotech IPOs are about as rare as the unicorn these days, but Talecris Biotherapeutics has filed new paperwork indicating that it's interested in raising up to a billion dollars on the public market. Report
> With the ink still drying on a new deal to license in nanoparticle technology developed by Calando Pharmaceuticals, Cerulean Pharma is set to announce later this morning that it has gone back to the venture well and drawn $10 million in B-1 financing. Report
> Chilled by a frosty economic climate, Varian has agreed to be bought out by rival Agilent Technologies for $1.5 billion. Report
> The UK's GlaxoSmithKline has grabbed licensing rights to Amgen's blockbuster osteoporosis drug denosumab, agreeing to pay $120 million in near-term milestones to sell the therapy in a host of markets such as China, Brazil and India. Amgen, which also will receive royalties, retained marketing rights in the U.S. and Canada. Report
> A Phase III trial for an experimental new drug for multiple sclerosis backed by Eli Lilly and BioMS Medical failed to hit its primary endpoint and several secondary endpoints in a late-stage trial, and the two companies quickly announced that they were shutting down clinical trial work on the therapy. Report
Manufacturing News
> Product authentication, e-pedigree compliance, returns and recalls, and product usage data form the basis of a partnership between brand protection company Authentix and One Network, a supply chain solutions provider. Report
> Sanofi-aventis recently lost a trailer full of drug products to thieves. The shipment contained blood thinner Lovenox (enoxaparin), the antihistamines Xyzal (levocetirizine) and Nasacort AQ nasal spray (triamcinolone), and acne treatment BenzaClin Gel (clindamycin), according to Securing Pharma. Report
> A deal said to move the totally disposable bioprocessing factory "one step closer to reality" has been struck by single-use bioprocessing equipment and services supplier Sartorius Stedim Biotech and SAFC Biosciences, a provider of cell culture materials and development services for upstream and downstream processing. Report
And Finally... A lack of sunlight is associated with reduced cognitive function among depressed people, researchers found. Release