Sanofi likely to extend Genzyme offer; J&J offers $2.3B for Crucell;

@FiercePharma: The Top 10 Pharma Layoffs of 2010. Report | Follow @FiercePharma

Sanofi-Aventis is likely to extend its bid for Genzyme, which expires at midnight in New York on Dec. 10, without raising the price, Le Figaro reported, without saying where it got the information. News

J&J offers $2.3B in bid for Crucell shares. Item

China has announced that it will reduce the retail prices of 174 medicines produced by more than 60 drugmakers on December 12, in a move which it says will save consumers around 2 billion yuan a year. News

Generally, trade agreements are discussed behind closed doors, but a New Zealand talk paper was leaked the other day and contains ideas that run counter to suggestions being pushed by US and the global pharmaceutical industry. In fact, the Public Citizen advocacy group, which publicized the leak, calls it a "direct challenge to the monopoly interests of major pharmaceutical corporations." Story

Assuring the $22 billion generic pharmaceutical industry, the government on Wednesday said India will not compromise its interest while negotiating the free trade and investment agreement with the European Union (EU). Article

A Credit Suisse analyst has upgraded European drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis based on their potential performances next year but downgraded AstraZeneca due in part to an expected momentum slip. Story

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: Orexigen shares skyrocket after FDA panel endorses obesity drug. News | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: The Economist lays out in simple terms why the biosimilar biz will be essentially monopolized by big pharma. Article | Follow @JohnCFierce

Cephalon strikes record $2B stem cell pact with Mesoblast. Article

Bayer will cap R&D budget at $4.1B. Story

Catabasis lands $14.5M tranche for Omega-3 drug development. News

Selventa names de Graaf as president, CEO. Item

Drug Delivery News

New material for programmable drug-eluting stents. Report

Midatech, Monosol to jointly market thin-film insulin. Article

Many drug failures are really drug delivery failures. Item

FDA loses battle in war against e-cigarettes. Article

Blowing away lymphoma with 'guided missile.' Story

Dry powder inhaler stays strong even if breath is weak. News

Medical Devices News

TYRX raises $20M for anti-infection device. News

BioMérieux cuts 100 jobs. Report

Puerto Rico touts advantages for med devices. Story

Abiomed ($ABMD) ends PROTECT II study. News

Fluidigm takes another shot at $86M IPO. Item

FDA panel supports broader Lap-Band use. Article

Covidien ($COV) gets win in German patent case. Report

And Finally... People who are neurotic often have more difficulty with relationships and marriage. But if neurotic newlyweds have frequent sexual relations, their marital satisfaction is every bit as high as their less neurotic counterparts, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE). News