Sundia MediTech was named one of the 50 best companies for investment in China in 2008 by local investors. There were more than 900 entries. “We thank the venture investor community for voting Sundia into Venture 50 again,” said Sundia CEO Xiaochuan Wang, “This award marks another step of Sundia’s growth.” Here’s the release.

Daiichi Sankyo’s acquisition of Ranbaxy is in doubt over a U.S. investigation and a related report by Parexel, a large contract research organization. “The U.S. said Ranbaxy used ingredients from unapproved sources and blended approved and unapproved substances, sometimes using less active drugs than mandated by regulators, the court papers said,” according to this Bloomberg story.

The U.S. government awarded a $32 million contract to DynPort Vaccine, a division of CSC. “DVC and Quintiles will manage a Phase I clinical trial unit to assess the safety of investigational therapeutic products being studied by NIAID, and determine pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of up to four new investigational products per year,” the release states.

Worldwide Clinical Trials has finished the acquisition of MediQuest. It was the most recent of five acquisitions that extend WCT’s global footprint to more than 30 countries. “The acquisitions we have completed to date significantly enhance our CRO capabilities and our ability to manage large, global trials, within our primary therapeutic areas of focus,” said Neal Cutler, president and CEO. “Our presence in Eastern Europe and Russia, two of the most attractive growth regions for clinical trials, helps transform our business into a truly global CRO.” Here’s the release.

ResearchPoint, a full-service CRO, announced a reorganization and the promotion of Sally Wilging to associate director, clinical management. “ResearchPoint has committed resources to create a distinct clinical management group within the organization,” notes Bob Davis, ResearchPoint’s COO. “Not only will this better serve our sponsors and investigative sites with improved communications, continuity and transparency, but it also creates a new career track for those in clinical operations.” Here’s the release.

After a few tentative Washington attacks on psychiatrists at Harvard, the anti-shrink effort seems to be gathering force. Politicians seem to believe mental health professionals have been more compromised by industry ties than other medical specialties. Congress has found the time to investigate both the American Psychiatric Association and individual physicians. Here’s the New York Times story. The newspaper says that about 30 percent of the APA’s $63 million budget came from the pharmaceutical industry. One lightening rod for Washington ire is an eminent Stanford psychiatrist, Alan Schatzberg, the incoming head of APA who is both a) a major investor in Corcept Pharmaceuticals and b) director of a major clinical trial of a promising Corcept product. Congressional investigators researched Schatzberg’s stake in Corcept and found inaccuracies in his financial disclosure paperwork. (Stanford University insists nothing is awry. But Stanford licensed key patents to Corcept and will be a beneficiary of its success.) Here’s another story in the San Jose Mercury News.

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