Roche’s $5.7 billion hostile bid for the sequencing company Illumina could create a personalized medicine powerhouse capable of not only driving a transformation in the treatment of disease, but its diagnosis as well. Roche has big visions, but the deal has raised some eyebrows. We spoke to Chris Bowe, U.S. Healthcare analyst for Scrip about Roche’s efforts, what it means for personalized medicine, and what some other M&A activity tells us about the industry's changing landscape.

Philanthropist says tough economic times are no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has received a major financial boost with a $750 million promissory note from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The promissory note, announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was hailed as an innovative funding mechanism.

New website and free app put lab results, prescription refill requests on mobile phones.

The world of social media is transforming the way people seek out healthcare information. Today, 70 percent of people search for health related information online and 43 percent turn to social media to find answers to their health related questions. LiquidGrids is working to help phamamaceutical companies tap into the massive amounts of real-time information being generated on social networks and using these outlets to engage directly with consumers. We spoke to Malcolm Bohm, CEO of LiquidGrids, about how pharmaceutical companies can use social media, the regulatory concerns surrounding it, and what it will take for the industry to throw out its old marketing playbook and use the new tools available to it.

New labs provide a ‘no-strings-attached’ home for life sciences startups. 

Janssen Research & Development is adding fresh support to drug industry’s open innovation movement with the launch of a pay-as-you-need-it lab space for 18 to 20 emerging biotech companies in San Diego.

Sets 2025 as a date to have effective treatment to prevent or treat the disease. 

A draft plan from an expert panel convened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets an audacious goal of having a means to effectively treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.

The rising cost of healthcare is being driven in part by aging populations around the world and the growing incidence of chronic diseases. Some argue that the only way we will reign in cost is through innovation rather than cost cutting care. We spoke to Gil Van Bokkelen, chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine and Chairman and CEO of Athersys, about the role regenerative medicine can play in addressing these problems, the landscape today, and the challenges these companies face in funding innovative therapies in the current environment.

The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets, and other business mishaps.

Novartis will eliminate nearly 2,000 jobs in preparation for its hypertension drug, Diovan, losing patent protection later this year. The announcement also comes after a rash of disappointing news on currently marketed drugs and drugs in development. Novartis has had to lower forecasts on its Tekurna hypertension drug, and in December the company stopped the late-stage trials of a drug used in patients with diabetes due to side effects. All the jobs cuts will occur in the United States.

Life sciences companies see more venture capital coming their way.

Flagship Ventures announced the closing of a $270 million life sciences fund, beating its $250 million fundraising goal. The announcement comes amid a flurry of venture capital fund closings at a time when the industry is worried over venture investors pulling out of the sector.

The annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference kicks off in San Francisco Monday, January 9, a gathering of the tribes for the biotech industry. Investors and executives will meet in and around the conference to provide updates, talk deals, and take the temperature on the industry. We spoke to Adam Feuerstein, senior columnist for TheStreet.com, about how the sector fared in 2011, what to look for at this year’s conference, and what’s ahead for the biotech industry in 2012.