> The family of Minnesota teen--Jacob Gunvalson, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy--was disappointed yesterday when a federal appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that said PTC Therapeutics had to provide an experimental drug to their son. Report
> Patheon, a contract development and manufacturing company, received a takeover bid from its largest shareholder, JLL Partners, a private equity firm. Report
> Syscan, a supply chain services company, filed bankruptcy after receiving a Letter of Demand for a bridge loan that it couldn't repay. Report
> Theratechnologies touted its financial fitness after closing on a collaboration and licensing deal with EMD Serono, netting a $30 million upfront payment in the process. Report
> Covance, a drug development services provider, yesterday purchased a minority equity stake in Caprion Proteomics, a provider of proteomics-based services to the pharmaceutical industry in hopes of enhancing its biomarker service offerings to clients. Report
> Genzyme got a green light from the agency to start marketing Mozobil, a drug that lures blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow to the blood stream for easier harvesting. Report
> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a study yesterday with findings that most consumers received Consumer Medication Information (CMI), but that only about 75 percent of the information met a minimum "criteria for usefulness." Release
> Two more companies to add to the layoff list: Palo Alto's Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Switzerland's Arpida both announced new rounds of cost-cutting and layoffs today. Report
> Like so many other small drug developers, Maryland-based EntreMed announced that it will cut 60 percent of its workforce and focus all its development activities on its lead drug program. Report
> The FDA will deploy new computer technology from Entelos to simulate the activity of experimental medications so the agency can get an earlier read on the safety and efficacy of drugs in the pipeline. Report
> A research team at UCSF recently concluded from an analysis of the data gathered in 164 trials that developers often skew their results, purposefully highlighting the positive when describing trial results--or omitting unfavorable information. Report
And Finally... In the field of tiny science, engineers at MIT have developed sensors that can detect chemotherapy drugs, environmental toxins and DNA-damaging free radicals in the body. The sensors consist of carbon nanotubes wrapped up in DNA and they can be placed in healthy or unhealthy (malignant) living cells said one professor at MIT. Report