> Sinclair Pharma announced that it has secured additional financing to meet its peak funding requirements over the rest of 2008 and through 2009; the financing includes funds from two company directors and their families. Report
> The global pharmaceutical market is expected to grow by 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent next year, taking total sales past $820 billion, according to IMS Health. Report
> Shares in Ireland's Elan fell almost 17 per cent after another patient--the third this year--contracted a life-threatening brain illness after taking the company's Tysabri multiple sclerosis drug. Report
> Hospira got the FDA nod on a new indication for Precedex, its drug for in-hospital sedation; now the med is approved for non-intubated patients as well as intubated patients. Release
> Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has applied for a new indication from the FDA for Fusilev, an injectable drug used in combination therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Release
> Small biotechs may be suffering on the economic front, but there is some good news for these companies. While the FDA is still cautious, a third of the novel drugs approved between 2005 and 2007 came from small biotech companies, according to the RPM Report. And that's a trend that's likely to continue. Report
> Boston-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals has garnered $20 million in its first round of venture capital financing. Report
> In a move designed to bolster it's hepatitis C offerings, GlaxoSmithKline is buying Redwood City, CA-based Genelabs Technologies for $57 million. Report
> Allergan and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals have signed a development and commercialization deal for apaziquone, an antineoplastic agent in Phase III testing for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer by intravesical instillation. Report
And Finally... Scientists have discovered the two key processes that allow cancer cells to change the way they move in order to spread through the body, a new journal article says. Report