FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin

Novartis has agreed to purchase German generic drugmaker Hexal AG and U.S. generic company Eon Labs -- acquisitions that will make it the largest generic drug company in the world, the company said.

Novartis is facing a $100 million sex-discrimination lawsuit initiated by 12 former and current employees who claim the company has a "systematic pattern" of discriminating against women.

The FDA has cited drugmaker Amgen for running a television commercial that includes an unsubstantiated claim for its TNF inhibitor Enbrel.

FDA has approved Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV), the first intravenous human plasma-derived product available to treat certain rare complications of smallpox vaccination.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. has completed its $370 million cash acquisition of JRH Biosciences division of CSL Ltd., it said. Lenexa, Kan.-based JRH Biosciences supplies cell culture and sera products to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Genome and drug researcher Perlegen Sciences Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., has received the third-largest venture funding round of 2005, a $74 million private placement intended to shore up its late-stage drug pipeline.

GenPath Pharmaceuticals, a drug discovery and development company focused on the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announced that it has changed its corporate name to AVEO Pharmaceuticals.

Targacept, a central nervous system-focused biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has postponed its previously announced initial public offering due to unfavorable market conditions.

Britain said on Tuesday it was buying 14.6 million courses of Roche Holding AG's antiviral drug Tamiflu as part of its contingency plan against an influenza pandemic.

Britain's cost-effectiveness health watchdog said Tuesday it wants to limit access to the four main drugs used to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease, to the fury of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Agro-pharma firm Hikal is setting up a contract research facility in Pune, Maharashtra, with an upfront investment of Rs 20 crore ($4.5 million) for chemistry and life sciences.

Large Scale Biology (LSBC) and Icon Genetics (ICON) have entered into a collaborative agreement to co-develop a biopharmaceutical product for a major therapeutic market.