FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin

Although shifting some Medicare Part B drugs to Part D could stoke competitive pressures on pharmaceutical pricing, the HHS does not recommend consolidating the coverage until the Medicare prescription drug benefit has had a chance to get up and running, according to a new report.

Pfizer won a preliminary victory in its fight to retain patent protection on its blood pressure medication Accupril when a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking generic firms Teva Pharmaceutical and Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals from selling a generic version of the drug.

Biovail might have to delay the launch of its Tramadol ER product by up to 18 months after learning that the FDA wants more clinical studies performed on the drug, an extended-release, once-daily version of Johnson & Johnson's painkiller Ultram (tramadol HCl).

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has received FDA clearance to market Baraclude, a new drug intended to treat hepatitis B.

CoTherix Inc. signed a research and development deal to seek an extended-release version of an inhaled drug with Quadrant Drug Delivery Ltd., it said Tuesday.

Sequoia Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company focused on discovering novel drugs to combat drug-resistant viral infections, today announced that it closed on a $22 million Series B round of financing.

Genaissance Pharmaceuticals and privately-held ParAllele BioScience, announced a joint license and co-marketing agreement to provide genetic screening technology and services for drug development and marketing.

SkinMedica, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, acquiring and commercializing products that treat dermatologic conditions and improve the appearance of skin, announced today the closing of a $15 million private placement of its Series E preferred stock.

Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation has amended its license and option agreement with LG Life Sciences, Ltd. for the Company's lead product, FACTIVE (gemifloxacin mesylate) tablets.

Amersin Life Science Corporation announced today that its subsidiary, Hubei Tongji Benda Ebei Pharmaceutical Company, has been awarded a 30 million RMB sales contract (approximately $3.6 million) to supply a range of homeostatic, antiviral and other pharmaceuticals in injectable form to Hubei Jiuzhoutong Pharmaceutical.

Takara Bio has signed a research and development agreement with MolMed S.p.A., an Italian company specialized in gene therapy treatments. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will develop a gene therapy treatment for AIDS.