Teva sues AstraZeneca over Crestor; Congress probes Actavis drug recall;

> Israeli generics maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries sued AstraZeneca, claiming its cholesterol drug Crestor violates a U.S. patent Teva has acquired. Report

> The French scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work involving the discovery of HIV, tells the AP that the quest to find a vaccine to guard against AIDS has been "a succession of failures." Report

> House lawmakers on Wednesday said they are investigating the FDA's handling of a drug recall at generics maker Actavis Totowa's facility in Little Falls, N.J. Report

> Millipore, a provider of technologies, tools and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, today opened a new membrane casting manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill, County Cork, Ireland. Millipore release

> The FDA has warned clinical-test giant LabCorp that it has been marketing an ovarian cancer test without approval, vindicating skeptics of the assay who worried it wasn’t ready for prime time. Report

> Watson Pharmaceuticals got the FDA nod for Rapaflo (silodosin), its new alpha blocker for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH. Watson release

> Ad agency Euro RSCG has landed lead creative duties on Levitra, an erectile dysfunction drug co-marketed by Schering-Plough and GlaxoSmithKline. Report

> Emergent BioSolutions announced today that two medical countermeasures included in its anthrax franchise--BioThrax anthrax vaccine adsorbed and Anthrax Immune Globulin--have been included as covered countermeasures under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. Emergent release

> Major Japanese wholesaler Mediceo Paltac Holdings and Alfresa Holdings, a wholesaler specializing in pharmaceutical products and medical equipment, are considering merging into a single entity. Report

> Cut off from raising funds by a roiled public market, MonoGen announced that it is halting commercial operations and laying off 75 percent of its work force. MonoGen report

> Neuronetics, a privately-held medical device company and a leader in the field of neuromodulation, said the FDA has cleared its NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy system for the treatment of depression. Report

> With the lid on federal research spending, competition for any available money has been heating up among more than 1,000 advocacy groups, according to the Wall Street Journal. Federal funding report

> Mylan said Thursday that the recent decline in its stock price was not related to any fundamental problems with the company, but to market turmoil and "unwarranted concern about our capital structure." Report

> Akorn announced that the FDA has approved its topical eye anesthetic Akten. And the developer says this is the first new FDA approval of an ocular anesthetic in 40 years. Akorn report

> The UK's Chris Evans is continuing to try and drum up support for a billion-pound investment fund to support the country's ailing biotech and medical device industry, with half of that money coming from the government. Report

> EpiCept said the European Commission has given the nod to its cancer treatment Ceplene (histamine dihydrochloride) for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse in adult patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. EpiCept release

And Finally... In the largest individual gift Harvard University has ever received, billionaire alumni Hansjörg Wyss has donated $125 million for the establishment of a biological engineering institute. Harvard report