Suitor sues OSI, adding pressure to its hostile bid.

Astellas Pharma's $3.5 billion hostile takeover bid for OSI Pharmaceuticals grew a little more bitter March 2, as Astellas sued OSI to keep it from using a poison pill to fend off its advances. The suit seeks an injunction against any action that would block Astellas’ tender offer for Melville, New York-based OSI's shares “in a manner inconsistent with the directors’ fiduciary duties.” The prize Astellas is after: OSI's treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer and advanced pancreatic cancer, Tarceva, which could be just the edge the Japanese pharma needs to compensate for Japan's increasing shift toward cheaper generics.

Biopharma’s funding round is the largest private European financing in 15 years.

Archimedes Pharma, a U.K.-based specialty pharma raised about $98 million and appointed a new CEO ahead of establishing U.S. commercial operations. Novo Growth Equity, funded by Novo A/S, debuted on the venture scene by leading the round, which was announced March 2. Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm also participated. Archimedes says the funding is the largest raised by a private European biopharma company in the last 15 years.

Lilly, Merck and Pfizer collaborate to accelerate cancer research in Asia.

GE Healthcare, Intel and Mayo Clinic explore new models of healthcare delivery through remote monitoring.

Next generation sequenincing opens the door to new ways to track cancer and indentify personalized biomarkers from tumor DNA.

Next-generation sequencing technology is poised become an important tool in the new era of personalized management of cancer patients, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins. In a new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, they say they have developed a new technique for tracking cancer by identifying personalized biomarkers from tumor DNA.

Netherlands research groups form $38 million personalized medicine partnership.

Pharmaceutical companies will need to rethink their strategies as the world in which they operate undergoes dramatic changes. Patients, armed with unprecedented access to information, are being transformed from passive participants to superconsumers of healthcare services. Drugmakers will need to rethink not only how they approach them, but how to forge partnerships with nontraditional healthcare players that are helping to usher in this new era from telecommunications carriers to information technology device makers. We spoke to Carolyn Buck Luce, global pharmaceutical sector leader for Ernst & Young, about these changes, how pharmaceutical companies will need to alter their business models, and whether or not drugmakers are ready for what lies ahead.

The Burrill Report (February 15, 2010): Why Pharmaceutical Companies Need To Rethink Their Business Models (.MP3,10.43 Mb) 

Vaccine maker funnels new cash into research and development.

Crucell, the Dutch vaccine maker, will bolster it's research and development spending in 2010 by more than one third, or about $32 million, even as many of its peers are cutting back and outsourcing R&D efforts, the company says. The new investment will be aimed at speeding up R&D productivity and accelerating and expanding product development.

Shell-Cosan enter $12 billion venture to ramp up production and distribution.