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How hopeful are execs about the future of their own companies and the industry in general?

The headlines are about layoffs, but some segments of pharma are still hiring. Pay, meanwhile, tightens.

It's just the way life works: You're always crossing the bridge before you get to it-or after it's gone

Will more resourches and new leadership fix FDA, or is a major overhaul in order?

Consumer pharma marketers are going to have to be a little more careful when using celebrity spokespeople or actors playing physicians. PhRMA has updated its rules and the consensus is clear - if you are paying for promotion, it must be noted in the ad.

Forget putting a cap on how much a gift to doctors should cost, the state of Massachusetts is considering outlawing everything from pens to meals - and don't even think about handing out free tickets to next week's Red Sox game.

At its annual business briefing, Merck surprised analysts with the announcement that it would be launching a new business in the biologics sector in an effort to create generic biotech drugs.

It's beginning to look a lot like layoffs. Lilly and Sanofi-Aventis announce sales rep cuts amid an economic downturn and the holiday season.

The already crowded health portal market will get a bit tighter with the addition of myOptumHealth.com. But unlike the other WebMDs of the world (wide Web), Optum comes with a built-in base of 60 million users and the muscle of the UnitedHealth Group.

The Federal Trade Commission is tightening the rules for who is a paid endorser and what advertisers need to disclose about them. Look for new transparency on payment and new language to replace "your mileage may vary."

To expand health coverage amid an economic crisis, Obama will be looking hard for ways to cut costs

Maybe what you're feeling isn't impending doom. Maybe it's just growing pains.

The new EU directive looks to reduce, refine, and eventually replace animal testing

AstraZeneca is releasing 1,400 employees in Europe, and refocusing its packing system in an effort to move product closer to where the demand is. In this case, that's China.

After months of negotiations and veiled threats, Alpharma's board of directors has sealed the deal with King Pharmaceuticals. Alpharma is now $1.6 billion richer, and King gets access to a handful of new pain treatments.

Spending on television advertising might be on the rise, but the consumer ad spend for prescription drugs is seeing a downward trend.

Once a breeding ground for dense jargon about mechanisms of action and prescribing information, Web sites like Centocor's new Medversation are giving doctors consumer-friendly content to help them spell out treatment options in a language everyone can understand.

Significant and dramatic healthcare policy changes are likely to follow after Barack Obama takes the oath of office and the expanded Democratic congressional majority settles in. But what does the electoral outcome mean for healthcare companies and the industry as a whole?

AstraZeneca caused a ruckus at the American Heart Association's annual meeting as data was released proving that its statin not only works for its target indication, but also reduced major CV events in patients who don?t have high cholesterol.

US heparin manufacturer ordered to turn over contaminated batches of heparin. Just how much of the tainted chemical is on the market?

Once considered the future of weight loss drugs, CB-1 antagonists have now been shelved globally. With failures from Pfizer, Merck, and Sanofi-Aventis, analysts say that this is the end of a potential blockbuster therapy.

HIV infection unzips its genes

It's been a year since consumer marketing master Joe Jimenez took over the top spot at Novartis Pharma. How's he faring?

As Congress moves to curb industry influence, support for med ed is waning

Evaluating experience: It's what you know, not how long you know it

Is FDA's MO in foreign inspections too broken to fix?

Industry is cinching its belt, but news that Merck will shed 12 percent of its workforce - many senior and middle management positions - was a bombshell announcement.

Affiris struck a deal with GlaxoSmithKline to develop two Alzheimer's treatments. As part of the agreement, GSK gains a fancy protein technology that could be a boon for future molecules.

IMS Special Report

New legislation gives US-based Web hosting companies the go-ahead to remove shady online pharmacies without a warrant. The new rule makes it harder to market counterfeit drugs, and for consumers to purchase medication without a prescription.