Elan buys share of Theravance royalties on new drug for $1B; Vivus bulks up its board in anticipation of proxy fight;

@FiercePharma: FDA nixes Endo petition to protect Opana ER from generics. Article | Follow @FiercePharma

Irish drugmaker Elan ($ELN) snapped up a 21% share of Theravance ($THRX) royalties on a newly approved respiratory drug to be sold by GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) in a $1 billion deal aimed at strengthening its defense against a buyout bid by Royalty Pharma. Report

Vivus ($VVUS), under pressure from investors unhappy with its obesity drug marketing, has added two more directors to its board at a time when shareholder First Manhattan has proposed its own slate of 6 nominees. Report

Two North Dakota men joined the hundreds who have sued Takeda Pharmaceutical, claiming the company's diabetes drug Actos caused their bladder cancer. Report

GlaxoSmithKline and Save the Children teamed up in a 5-year, $23 million deal to improve healthcare and vaccination in the developing world. Report

Medical Device News

@FierceMedDev: Boston Scientific's Watchman AF device generates more stunning data. Story | Follow @FierceMedDev

@MarkHFierce: Swiss stent maker Bioensors Int'l will pay $51M for a U.S. imaging company - diversification program now under way. More | Follow @MarkHFierce

@DamianFierce: Glaxo is reaching into Hong Kong with a new DKSH partnership, targeting antibiotics. Article | Follow @DamianFierce

Israel's budding medical device industry begins to flower. Item

Sorin wins FDA nod for cardiac monitor. News

Michigan State develops blood Dx for childhood malaria complication. DxExtra

Biotech News

@FierceBiotech: FDA accepts $BIIB's BLA for 1st long-lasting factor VIII therapy for hemophilia A. Release | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: J&J gets a priority review for hep C drug simeprevir (with Medivir). More | Follow @JohnCFierce

@RyanMFierce: Mobile service PharmaSecure finds demand in losing fight against fake drugs. Story | Follow @RyanMFierce

Vectura joins forces with a new JV biotech in China for respiratory therapies. News

Class action suits pile up at Aveo's doorstep in wake of FDA debacle. More

Elan pays $1B for a slice of Theravance's COPD franchise royalty stream. News

CRO News

Argentine CRO Stat Research taps Datatrak. News

Harlan Labs doubles in specialty research with U.S. expansion. Story

PRA boosts informatics with Welsh expansion. More

Quintiles hauls in $947M IPO after upping offering. Report

AMRI piles on profits with strong Q2. Article

Biotech IT News

Pfizer tests online Viagra sales to beat the cheats. News

IT outfit Instem acquires Logos to penetrate early clinical trials market. More

GlaxoSmithKline exec details expectations for online clinical trial research. Article

Hong Kong billionaire backs Big Data effort in biomedicine at Oxford University. Story

Pfizer opts to keep running Accelrys software in its labs. Article

And Finally... Scientists found a biomarker in patients' noses that may be linked to schizophrenia. Report