Biotech News

GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it's starting an unusual collaboration with the U.S. government to develop several antibiotics for both bioterrorism threats and bacterial infections resistant to current medicines.

A new wave of medicines that tap the power of the immune system to fight cancer could become the biggest drug class in history, with potential sales of $35 billion a year.

Faced with manufacturing quality questions that caused the FDA to reject its potential Parkinson's disease treatment, Impax Laboratories has hired a committee of specialists to oversee quality improvements at its California facility.

Over the last decade, former Navy Secretary Richard J. Danzig, a prominent lawyer, presidential advisor and biowarfare consultant to the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, has urged the government to counter what he called a major threat to national security.

Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs.

The Partnership At Drugfree.org describes caffeine as a psychoactive stimulant on their website , citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the National Institute on Drug Abuse as sources of information on the matter.

The overall health of Americans isn't improving much, with about six in 10 people either overweight or obese and large numbers engaging in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, heavy drinking or not exercising, a new government report shows.

About 13,000 union workers at five University of California medical centers, including the one in San Diego, began a two-day strike Tuesday.

Amarin had been trading bullish on the heels of their quarterly conference call two weeks ago where they reported a continued increase in Vascepa sales and $2.3 million in recognized Vascepa revenues.

Watson Pharmaceuticals , founded by a Taiwanese immigrant in the early 1980s and now a rival to generic drug giants Teva Pharmaceuticals On Monday, Watson capped its intercontinental move when the company announced a $8.5 billion deal to buy Dublin-based- Warner Chilcott .

Stop Animal Exploitation Now says a fine issued by the USDA against Mattawan-based MPI Research is not enough to force the company to change what SAEN considers improper animal-handling. MATTAWAN, MI - Scientific testing company MPI Research was fined $6,911 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday for violations of the U.S. Animal Welfare ... (more)

When it comes to winning hearts and minds about the merits of genetically engineered ingredients , it's fair to say that the biotech industry has not done a great job.

Actavis is buying Warner Chilcott in an all-stock deal valued at about $8.5 billion that would create the third-biggest specialty pharmaceutical company in the U.S. market.

Monsanto Co is hosting a "Bee Summit." Bayer AG is breaking ground on a "Bee Care Center." And Sygenta AG is funding grants for research into the accelerating demise of honeybees in the United States, where the insects pollinate fruits and vegetables that make up roughly a quarter of the American diet.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday released its review of the company's sleep aid, suvorexant, ahead of a public meeting on Wednesday.

Though Janssen Korea says it is confident it will resolve its manufacturing issues, product recall and suspensions could be followed by lawsuits and imprisonment.

US drugs maker Actavis, itself the subject of bid speculation, is to buy Dublin-based rival Warner Chilcott in a deal worth up to $8.5bn . The announcement on Monday comes after the two companies said earlier this month that they were in talks about a possible tie-up. Actavis's drugs include treatments for deep vein thrombosis, asthma medication ... (more)

Despite a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found fecal bacteria in more than half of the water samples taken from metro Atlanta public swimming pools , Cobb officials said the county's pools are safe.

A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help tens of thousands of men each year decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it.

A report says former Navy Secretary Richard J. Danzig, who serves as a bio-warfare adviser to the president and Pentagon, urged the government to stockpile an anti-anthrax drug while serving as a director for the company that supplies it.