Australian officials are considering a new physician role in clinical trials. The goal is to avoid the TeGenero debacle in London. Australians will have certain physicians coordinate patient care. The pilot program starts on January 20, 2007 and appears to be a way for primary care physicians to dip their toes into arenas typically handled by specialist physicians. Katherine McGrath, deputy director-general for health system performance at NSW Health, said: “We are building systems that support patient safety. A lot of adverse events occur when patients fall through the cracks between clinical units.”

Bayer will fire 1,500 people from its pesticide and fertilizer business. Profits were up 11 percent in the second quarter, reaching $578 million. The figures were adjusted for the Schering acquisition, but only at the end of the reporting period.

The Swiss approved Lucentis, the Genentech/Roche drug for the wet form of macular degeneration. Outside the U.S., the drug will be marketed by Novartis, which has a longer history of opthamological products. Approval of the drug in the full E.U. will take longer, and is expected next year.

MedImmune and Infinity Pharmaceuticals have a new deal to share all costs and products from any future products. MedImmune will invest $70 million in Infinity, which could receive as much as $430 million if a variety of milestones are met.

A key Congressman from California, Henry Waxman, is asking for FDA data about over-the-counter cold remedies, and whether they actually serve as decongestants. The issue is phenylephrine, which was substituted for pseudoephedrine when that chemical became widely used in the synthesis of illegal methamphetamine. Waxman wants to know if there are any data showing the new decongestant to be comparable to the old one, citing a letter to a leading allergy journal. When asked by journalists to comment on the efficacy of phenylephrine, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson said only that consumers had embraced the reformulated products.

SGX Pharmaceuticals saw its stock pounded after the company halted a Phase II/III trial of Troxatyl, for leukemia. The issue appears to be the drug’s efficacy, not safety, according to comments from the company’s CEO, Mike Gray.

Image Solutions, Inc. won another award from Deloitte & Touche. ISI handles images and documents for regulatory submissions. About the company, Deloitte said: “Sustaining high revenue growth over five years is an exceptional accomplishment. We commend Image Solutions for making the commitment to technology and delivering on the promise of market longevity.”

Ireland appears to be a less-desirable place for clinical trials: in 2006, just 58 were registered through July. Perhaps 100 trials will start in Ireland this year, officials estimate, a reduction of 50 percent compared to the recent past. India and China seem to be winning trials that Ireland is losing. But Ireland hopes to specialize in unspecified therapeutic areas to avoid further losses. d9A2t49mkex