Novo's Victoza beats Januvia in study; New Actavis chief promises growth by acquisition;

  @FiercePharma: J&J recall plant to stay closed through year's end. Article | Follow @FiercePharma

> Novo Nordisk said extension data from a study showed its new diabetes drug Victoza provided better blood sugar control and weight reduction than Merck's blockbuster Januvia. Report

> Icelandic generic drug maker Actavis aims to become the world's third-largest manufacturer of copycat medicines via acquisitions, CEO Claudio Albrecht told Dow Jones in an interview. Report

> Britain's health cost watchdog has changed tack and recommended that rheumatoid arthritis patients should have more options if they do not respond adequately to treatment with a so-called TNF inhibitor drug. Report

> Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will stop selling a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' cancer drug Eloxatin in the U.S. after June 30 following a court order, the Indian drugmaker said. Report

> FDA said it does not expect any shortage of children's pain and allergy medications despite Johnson & Johnson's inability to resume production until at least next year. Report

> Pharmaceutical sales in France grew 2.7 percent to 26.9 billion euros last year, but retail sales of non-reimbursable drugs advanced 3.6 percent, according to new industry figures. Report

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Analysts fret over Pfizer's litany of pipeline snafus. Article | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: Now the 3 obesity drug developers, Vivus, Orexigen and Arena, have panels lined up, when do partners step up with the big bucks? Why so late? | @JohnCFierce

> Eisai blueprints new R&D center in India. Report

> As R&D budgets slide, declining output mires pharma pipeline. Item

> Doc sentenced to prison for faking research data. Story

> Analysts turn bearish on Roche's taspoglutide prospects. Article

> New diabetes data highlights promising drug class. Story

> AZ will open compound library to malaria researchers. News

Biotech IT News

> Symyx software helps bridge biologic/chemical gap. Item

> Cloudera, Quest Software to partner. News

> Investigators turn to new 3D imaging tech in bone study. Report

> Seattle start-up attracts early adopters of cancer drug tech. Story

> IBM touts cloud computing's ability to cut trial costs. Item

And Finally... What would happen in a world that accepts no risks in its pharmaceuticals? We would have very empty medicine cabinets. Report