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Generic drugs considered important to the public health will now get quicker review times, FDA officials said yesterday.

Bayer pinned its failure to tell the FDA about a study regarding heart surgery drug Trasylol on an error by two unnamed individuals, as it hired outside counsel to investigate the matter.

The US Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from generic drugmaker Apotex over a patent challenge to Pfizer’s blockbuster antidepressant Zoloft.

The FDA yesterday approved Genentech’s Avastin for use in treating non-small cell lung cancer.

DTC advertising spending by pharmaceutical companies was up 9% during the first half of 2006, according to data released this week by marketing information firm TNS Media Intelligence.

A move by US Customs to relax enforcement on the importation of Rx drugs from Canada has drawn fire from the industry trade group PhRMA.

Democrats wouldn’t be in power more than four days before legislating price controls on pharmaceuticals, according to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive Speaker of the House should the Democrats win a majority of seats next month.

Altana Pharma said it would lay off about 400 workers as part of a dismantling of its US sales & marketing and research operations.

Shire Friday received tentative FDA approval to market its new attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX).