On a personal note, CEOs of big pharma companies would have to give 30 percent of their earnings – of $1 million or more – to the government, and the budget would limit the value of tax deductions and other tax benefits for other high-income earners who haven't entered the millionaire's club

The drug is expected to be available by the end of May...GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, and A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, of Singapore, signed a five-year agreement to develop new evidence-based formulations (EBFs) specifically for emerging markets...EBFs are medicines reformulated to provide additional patient benefit

The company expects to see results from by late summer...The firms will aim to offer pharma and biotech companies a set of fully integrated nuclear receptor drug discovery capabilities by combining expertise in structural biology, medicinal chemistry, biology, DMPK, pharmacology and safety

Covis Pharma Sarl, of Zug, Switzerland, inked a deal with affiliates of Paris-based Sanofi SA to acquire full commercial rights to Nilandron (nilutamide), Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), Rilutek (riluzole), Uroxatral (alfuzosin hydrochloride) and Kayexalate (sodium polystyrene sulfate) in the U.S. Sanofi will retain rights to the products outside of the U.S. Financial terms were not disclosed...In other news, Prana reported that it received a A$2.5 million (US$2.6 million) cash refund under the R&D

Merz Pharma Group, of Frankfurt, Germany, said it withdrew its nonbinding proposal to acquire the outstanding common stock of Obagi Medical Products Inc., of Long Beach, Calif., for $22 per share in cash...NovaDel Pharma Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., signed a definitive agreement to sell its NovaMist technology and certain additional assets, including related patents and trademarks, to Australia's Suda Ltd

Valeant has granted Actavis the exclusive right to co-promote Zovirax cream to obstetricians and gynecologists in the U.S., and Actavis has granted Valeant the exclusive right to co-promote Actavis Specialty Brands' Cordran Tape (flurandrenolide) product in the U.S...and, Kayexalate is prescribed to remove dangerously high levels of potassium in the blood

Covis Pharma Sarl, of Zug, Switzerland, inked a deal with affiliates of Paris-based Sanofi SA to acquire full commercial rights to Nilandron (nilutamide), Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), Rilutek (riluzole), Uroxatral (alfuzosin hydrochloride) and Kayexalate (sodium polystyrene sulfate) in the U.S. Sanofi will retain rights to the products outside of the U.S. Financial terms were not disclosed

Furiex inked the deal with Menarini in 2012, giving the Italian pharma firm rights to commercialize Priligy in Europe, most of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East...The refund was received to support research and clinical development of PBT2 for Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as for other Prana research activities into Parkinson's disease and other neurological indications

UCB SA, of Brussels, Belgium, said its Canadian subsidiary received Health Canada approval for Neupro (rotigotine), a non-ergolinic dopamine agonist in patch form, for treating the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease and moderate to severe idiopathic restless legs syndrome in adults

Ferro Corp., of Cleveland, sold its pharmaceuticals business, Pfanstiehl Laboratories, to PLI Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Med Opportunity Partners LLC, for $16.9 million in cash and an earn-out incentive payment of up to $8 million, payable over two years based on earnings targets...The move is part of a strategy by Ferro to divest non-core businesses and drive growth from its Performance Materials and Performance Chemicals businesses...The exchange offer is being carried out to satisfy obligations

DSP will exclusively discuss with RIJ to collaborate in and outside Japan...RIJ said it aims to commercialize the world's first pharmaceutical iPS cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells...Completion of the rights sale under the APA is subject to certain third-party and Chinese regulatory approvals

Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., said the FDA approved Aciphex Sprinkle delayed-release capsules for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children, ages 1 to 11, for up to 12 weeks

Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the FDA granted orphan designation for ACE-536 for the treatment of beta-thalassemia and for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes...Other candidates currently undergoing tests required for investigational new drug applications with the FDA include an undisclosed iBioLaunch-produced monoclonal antibody and vaccines for anthrax, malaria and yellow fever...The agreement aims to identify inhibitors of a kinase that plays a key role in tissue

Under terms of the agreement, Actavis can launch its generic version of Crestor 67 days prior to July 8, 2016, the expiration of pediatric exclusivity, at a fee of 39 percent of net sales to AstraZeneca...The FDA granted tentative approval to Actavis' ANDA on June 6, 2011

Ltd., enabling Simcere Vaxtec to resume production of its influenza vaccine

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, and Nagasaki University signed a collaborative research agreement to discover new drugs for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) caused by dengue virus...In separate news, Astellas signed a deal to access the TSUBAME2.0 supercomputer at the Tokyo Institute of Technology to discover candidates for NTDs caused by dengue virus

Cancer Research Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, said they were collaborating with Janssen Biotech Inc., a unit of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, to discover a potential new multiple myeloma drug

Another $13 million to $15 million in equipment, integration service and testing will be provided by Agila...Cardiome Pharma Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said Institutional Shareholder Services Inc...The compounds are thought to have relevance for Parkinson's disease

The FDA stated that bleeding rates associated with new use of Pradaxa do not appear to be higher than those with new use of warfarin, which is consistent with observations from the pivotal RE-LY trial