San Diego Biotech News

AEG boss says Jackson insurance covers overdose

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Concert promoter AEG Live's chief executive said Thursday that insurance will help cover any losses on the now-canceled Michael Jackson concert series if the pop star died accidentally _ including of a drug overdose _ but not if he died of natural causes.

Johnson & Johnson pays $1B for Elan stake

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Johnson & Johnson, making a big jump into the risky but potentially lucrative field of Alzheimer's disease, is taking a major stake in Irish biopharmaceutical company Elan Corp., investing up to $1.5 billion initially.

Sequenom Discloses SEC Probe, How Evoke Pharma Got its Drug, Illumina Sales Fall Short, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Source: Xconomy San Diego

We had a mixed bag of bad and good news from the San Diego life sciences industry this week heading into the holiday weekend. —At least 11 shareholder lawsuits have been filed against San...

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Illumina Sales Miss Expectations

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: Xconomy San Diego

San Diego-based Illumina, the maker of genetic analysis tools for biologists, said today that its second-quarter sales fell short of the company’s forecast. Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), in a...

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FDA requires Chantix, Zyban to have warning

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

The Food and Drug Administration will require two smoking-cessation drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to carry the agency's strongest safety warning over side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts.

Acorda shares fall on Biogen partnership

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Shares of Acorda Therapeutics Inc. fell Wednesday after the company gave Biogen Idec Inc. overseas rights to the experimental multiple sclerosis drug Fampridine-SR, though investors have been hoping for a buyout, according to a JPMorgan analyst.

SEC Opens Probe of Sequenom Research

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: Xconomy San Diego

San Diego’s Sequenom, which postponed release of its prenatal test for Down syndrome, disclosed in a filing that the Securities and Exchange Commision has initated an investigation into the...

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Amira Pharmaceuticals’ Experimental Lung Disease Drug May Have Legs

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: Xconomy San Diego

The story around Amira Pharmaceuticals’ experimental drug AP2966 is beginning to get interesting. Yesterday the San Diego-based respiratory drug company said its experimental drug reduced lung...

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Strides seen on swine flu vaccine

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

The San Diego biotech company Vical reported encouraging animal-test results yesterday of a vaccine against H1N1 influenza A — swine flu — less than two months after launching the project.

FDA panel: Lower maximum daily dose of Tylenol

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Government experts called for sweeping safety restrictions Tuesday on the most widely used painkiller, including reducing the maximum dose of Tylenol and eliminating prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet.