Merck fights latest set of Fosamax fracture claims; HealthCanada pulls mispackaged Apotex contraceptives;

 @FiercePharma: Merck's new Fosamax trial starts today. Was woman's atypical femur fracture caused by drug, or disease? More | Follow @FiercePharma

 @EricPFierce: India delays to 2014 its deadline for drugmakers to put bar codes on primary packaging to fight fakes. More | Follow @EricPFierce

> Merck's second trial over Fosamax links to atypical femur fractures opened today in New Jersey; the first ended in a mistrial. Report

> HealthCanada recalled Apotex's Alysena birth control pill after it found a package that contained twice as many placebo pills as it should have. Report

> The U.K.'s pharma trade group says drug companies paid about £40 million per year to British doctors in service fees, flights, hotel and other travel expenses. Report

> Novartis ($NVS) shares rose after Bank of America hiked its rating to Neutral and raised its price target to $74.71. Report

> A Chinese flu drug maker, Baoshantang Pharmaceutical lost its license after toxins were found in herbal ingredients; the company processed the herbs for China-based pharma major Guangzhou Pharmaceutical. Report

Medical Device News

@FierceMedDev: 'Awake Imaging' boosts Dx prospects for fidgety patients. Article | Follow @FierceMedDev

@MarkHFierce: BSD will use Japan's Terumo to reach global markets with its cancer ablation device. More | Follow @MarkHFierce

 @DamianFierce: Quintiles' founder and early investors will make off with $25M once the CRO goes public. Story | Follow @DamianFierce

> FDA: Woman with HeartWare HVAD dies after device loses power. Article

> Penn Medicine rolls out personalized diagnostics. Item

> 'Awake Imaging' boosts Dx prospects for fidgety patients. More

> Cancer Genetics bags $6.9M in over-allotted IPO. Story

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Pharmacyclics bounces higher as J&J wins third 'breakthrough' cancer drug coup. More | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: Roche rolls out $392M Isis pact in two-prong attack on Huntington's. Story | Follow @JohnCFierce.

@RyanMFierce: Uh oh. biotech outfit Unigene is slashing ~40% of workers to extend cash runway. Release | Follow @RyanMFierce

> Investigator says 'insane' rules are blocking his study on magic mushrooms. More

> Blue chip venture groups arm gene therapy upstart with $41M launch round. News

> In Sunday surprise, Bristol-Myers' R&D chief replaced by lieutenant. Report

CRO News

> InVentiv sells sample management biz to Knipper. More

> Indian trial reform on the way, but does it make sense? Article

> EU CRO TranScrip launches U.S. operation. Item

> AmerisourceBergen sells contract packaging biz for $308M. More

> Bristol-Myers picks LabCorp for CRO work. Story

Biotech IT News

> Survey: Cloud computing tops pharma's IT plans. More

> Life Tech genome software aids cancer-drug hunters in pharma. Report

> New trial search engine steps into congested market. Story

> Big Data hits Eastern Europe as IBM fires up supercomputer. Item

> Computational scientists clear path to potential Parkinson's drugs. Article

And Finally... Scientific publishing faces big changes as cloud computing and crowd-sourcing come to the fore. Report