ALSO NOTED: Takeda and Dey settle Alabama suit; Teva loses North American CEO

Two pharma companies--Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Dey--agreed to pay a total of $7 million to the State of Alabama to settle claims that they fraudulently inflated their reported prices for prescription drugs. Report

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' North American CEO George Barrett has left the company to become vice chairman and healthcare supply chain chief of Cardinal Health. He'll be replaced by William Marth, president and CEO of Teva USA. Report

Perrigo announced it would buy UK-based over-the-counter supplier Galpharm Healthcare for $86 million in cash. Report

Novo Nordisk has tapped Alan Moses as its chief medical officer worldwide; previously, Moses was medical officer of the company's U.S. affiliate. Release

BioAlliance Pharma got regulatory OK to sell its candidiasis treatment Loramyc in Denmark and Britain. Report

A universal flu vaccine may be on the horizon. Report

A new study appears to fully sever the alleged link between the mercury-containing thimerosal and autism. Report

The paucity of NME approvals by the FDA last year--a miserly 16, one of the worst records in decades--is attracting worried comment from all angles in the drug development business. Report

And Finally... Think pharma could find a way to market canine companionship? It's proving to not only lower blood pressure, but even lower cholesterol and cut heart attack risk. Report