Johnson & Johnson eyes Crucell for vaccines (Morning Read)

Highlights of the important and interesting in the world of healthcare:

Vaccines attract takeovers. Johnson & Johnson became the latest large healthcare group to expand into vaccines with the launch of a $2.3 billion takeover offer for the Dutch company Crucell, according to the Financial Times (registration required).

Another ‘no’ for a diet drug. A federal advisory panel on Thursday recommended against approval of a new diet pill — lorcaserin, and developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals — the latest setback in efforts to develop treatments for the nation’s obesity epidemic, the New York Times reported.

Lycera loses CEO. Bill Sibold, CEO of Lycera, one of Michigan’s high-profile biotech startups, has left the company o pursue other interests after less than a year on the job, Xconomy Detroit has confirmed.

Treatment a ‘significant milestone.’ A 21-year-old man suffering from a rare genetic blood disease who has needed monthly transfusions since he was 3 was treated with a therapy being developed by Bluebird Bio of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2007 and hasn’t needed a transfusion in two years, according to a study published in the journal Nature, Bloomberg reported.

We buy HealthGrades shares. Health Grades Inc., the Golden, Colorado, medical institution rating service, said a tender offer for its outstanding shares as part of a $294 million buyout bid has been extended — again — according to the Denver Business Journal.

Medicaid fraud investigation nets CFO. Former Florida hospital CFO Natalie Ann Krasnow has been arrested for racketeering and Medicaid fraud, and faces a maximum of 90 years in jail and $30,000 in fines if convicted of all the charges against her, reported FierceHealthcare.