Industry News

• NIH Loan Repayment Programs relieve researchers' educational debt   As medical education costs rise, NIH Loan Repayment Programs have, for nearly 10 years, supported early stage investigators by repaying up to $35,000 of educational debt annually for investigators who commit to at least two years of research funded by a U.S. nonprofit, university or government body.
  National Institutes of Health August 30, 2010  
• Viruses found in chronic fatigue syndrome patients  New research supports the idea that viruses may play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a debilitating disease that affects millions of people nationwide.
  National Institutes of Health August 30, 2010  
• BARDA funds $27 million drug development for biothreats, antibiotic resistance to Achaogen  HHS has awarded a contract to develop an antibiotic that could be used against possible two types of bioterrorism and common infections becoming resistant to antibiotics. The contract to Achaogen of San Francisco is for $27 million in the first two years, and can be extended for three years.
  U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services August 30, 2010  
• 3M to acquire Cogent Inc. for $943 million  3M and Cogent announced an agreement for 3M’s acquisition of Cogent Inc. for $10.50 per share with an aggregate value of approximately $943 million. Cogent provides finger, palm, face and iris biometric systems for governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises.
  3M Company August 30, 2010  
• Genzyme confirms receipt of unsolicited Sanofi-Aventis proposal  Genzyme confirmed that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Sanofi-Aventis to acquire all the outstanding shares of Genzyme for $69 per share in cash. The Genzyme board of directors met last night, unanimously affirmed its previous rejection of Sanofi’s proposal.
  Genzyme Corp. August 30, 2010  
• Idera Pharmaceuticals achieves clinical milestone under its collaboration with Merck  Idera announced a milestone under its agreement with Merck achieved upon Merck's initiation of a Phase 1b clinical trial of IMO-2055, an agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9, in combination with cisplatin, fluorouracil and cetuximab in first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma.
  Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. August 27, 2010  
• Charles River implements $300 million accelerated stock repurchase program  Charles River Laboratories announced that it has implemented an accelerated stock repurchase program to repurchase $300 million of common stock, as part of its previously announced authorization from its Board of Directors to repurchase up to $500 million of common stock.
  Charles River Laboratories International August 27, 2010  
• Genentech receives refuse to file letter from FDA for T-DM1  ImmunoGen announced that Genentech announced its receipt of a Refuse to File letter from the FDA for the accelerated approval of the Biologic License Application for trastuzumab-DM1, or T-DM1, submitted in July 2010.
  ImmunoGen, Inc. August 27, 2010  
• DePuy Orthopaedics voluntarily recalls ASR(TM) Hip System  DePuy Orthopaedics announced it is voluntarily recalling the ASR(TM) XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR(TM) Hip Resurfacing System used in hip replacement surgery due to the number of patients who required a second hip replacement procedure, called a revision surgery.
  Johnson & Johnson August 26, 2010  
• FDA warns consumers to avoid TimeOut Capsules  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to take TimeOut Capsules because it contains an active drug ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure. The product is marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement.
  FDA August 25, 2010  

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