Pharma news

AP - Court documents show police linked a drug blamed in Michael Jackson's death to the pop singer's personal physician who bought it at a Las Vegas pharmacy.

AP - Flu drug developer BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. priced its 5 million common stock share offering at $9.75 per share.

AP - The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it issued 22 warning letters to Web site operators over alleged illegal sales of unapproved or misbranded drugs.

AP - Shares of Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose Thursday after an analyst upgraded the stock, saying Momenta will soon receive marketing approval for its version of the anti-clotting drug Lovenox.

AP - Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it received a $2 million milestone payment from Merck & Co. as part of a research collaboration.

AP - Drug development contractor Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. said Wednesday it will buy BioDuro LLC in a move to expand capabilities in China.

AP - Delcath Systems Inc., a developer of a cancer-drug delivery device, said Wednesday it raised $32.4 million in net proceeds from a public stock offering.

AP - A former pharmaceutical company executive who returned to Kansas this year announced Tuesday that he's running for governor, giving Democrats a declared candidate.

AP - Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it.

AP - Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it.

AP - A day after Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its drug candidate picoplatin failed to improve survival for patients with lung cancer, the company reported positive data on the drug as a treatment for colorectal cancer.

AP - Flu drug developer BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it plans to sell as many as 5.75 million new shares of stock.

AP - Pharmaceutical maker Novartis AG said Tuesday a U.S. clinical study suggests that half a dose of its swine flu vaccine may be sufficient to protect people from the virus and could allow many more to be immunized with current supplies.

AFP - A new study has cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of Zetia, a cholesterol drug produced by US pharmaceuticals giant Merck.

AP - Shares of Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. crashed Monday after the company said its cancer drug picoplatin missed its goal in a clinical trial.

AP - Par Pharmaceutical Co. said Monday it received marketing approval for a generic version of Johnson & Johnson's extended-release chronic pain drug Ultram ER, and has started shipping the drug.

AP - Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday its cancer drug candidate picoplatin did not help lung cancer patients live longer, sending its shares plunging in early trading.

AP - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday an irritable bowel syndrome drug candidate met its goals in a mid-stage clinical trial.

AP - Eli Lilly & Co. said Friday its science and technology head will retire. The drugmaker hired the chief researcher at AstraZeneca PLC to replace him.

AP - Serbia's health authorities have ordered three million swine flu vaccines from Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG worth an estimated euro24 million ($36 million).