PhRMA picks Pfizer CEO Kindler to chair; E.U. regulators advocate new Tarceva use;

  @FiercePharma: Why do Americans pay more for their meds? Article | Follow @FiercePharma

> Pfizer chief Jeffrey Kindler has been elected chairman of PhRMA, succeeding David Brennan, AstraZeneca's CEO. Release

> European drugs regulators have recommended that cancer drug Tarceva from OSI Pharmaceuticals and Roche be marketed for first-line maintenance of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Release

> Valeant Pharmaceuticals says it will buy a Brazilian generic and OTC drugmaker for about $28 million to expand its generics and dermatology portfolio. Release

> Reckitt Benckiser says it is buying back the sales and marketing rights to the buprenorphine-containing products Suboxone, Subutex and Temgesic from Merck for £100 million. Release

> Drug researcher Theravance said it expects to raise $86.3 million by selling additional shares to the public. Release

> An estimated 440,000 people had multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 2008 and a third of them died as the new variant of the TB mycobacterium continues to spread. Report

Biotech News

   @FierceBiotech: Roche/Genentech try to develop companion diagnostic tests for all their experimental drugs. | Follow @FierceBiotech

   @JohnCFierce: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this time the FDA is going to follow through on supporting innovation. It's been a long time coming. Report | Follow @JohnCFierce

> Roll Call has listed the highest-paid association lobbyists in 2009. Representatives from PhRMA and BIO took eight of the top 20 spots, with PhRMA's Mimi Kneuer coming in at number two with $830,559 in salary plus bonus. Item

> A.P. Pharma nausea drug hit with FDA rejection. Report

> OXiGENE filing includes going concern opinion. Story

> Roche looks to pipeline, new diseases for growth. Article

> France's Neovacs launches $27 million IPO. Report

> Drugmakers, non-profits to partner on TB drug development. Story

And Finally... A newspaper article has reawakened a controversy over whether provincial authorities in China improperly stored vaccines, rendering them ineffective, and then let them be administered to children. Report