Generic drug company Synthon Pharmaceuticals has received tentative U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on its application to make a version of UCB‘s (EBR:UCB) allergy medicine Xyzal.Netherlands-based Synthon, which has its U.S. headquarters and laboratories in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, said it is seeking to bring a generic version of Xyzal oral solution to [...]

A Kalamazoo-based venture fund has raised $15 million to invest in lifescience companies that have a significant presence in southwest Michigan, said the fund’s managing director on Wednesday.SWMF LifeScience Venture Fund intends to raise another $35 million, said Pat Morand, adding that six years ago, the fund raised its first $50 million.While Morand is the [...]

Cardiovascular Systems Inc. recently announced that it’s started a limited-market release of its Stealth 360 Orbital PAD System, the latest in the company’s line of catheter-based systems that rub away plaque in clogged arteries in the pelvis or leg.St. Paul, Minnesota-based CSI (NASDAQ:CSII) claims the Stealth 360 has a simpler, more user-friendly design than previous [...]

Stryker Corp. CEO Stephen MacMillan ceded another pay raise last year, citing the “challenging business environment” and leaving the orthopedics giant’s top boss at 2008 base pay levels.Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK ) CEO Stephen MacMillan once again deferred a pay raise in 2010 due to the “challenging business environment,” despite increasing the [...]

Analysts saw the acquisition as a sharp move by Perrigo and the company’s stock responded in kind, rising to an all-time high. Perrigo purchased Paddock for roughly twice its revenue — the final price is $445 million after certain tax benefits — even though Paddock is in a fast-growing, high-margin niche and had recent revenue growth of more than 20 percent, according to Morningstar.

The Stryker lawsuit claims the company improperly promoted off-label use of a pair of bone-growth products and also lied to the Food & Drug Administration. Stryker Biotech now says the government is over-reaching with its indictment and failing to back up most of its charges.

ProNAi uses gene silencing focused on DNA to attack a gene that helps tumor cells survive. In September the company launched a Phase I study on its treatment PNT2258, which will run through next year. The funding is likely to pay for this trial and others. ProNAi Chief Operating Officer Robert Forgey said in September the company had raised nearly $1 million to pay for the trial.

Hygieia’s glucose monitoring system would allow diabetics to adjust the amount of glucose they inject without visiting a doctor. The device provides dose-by-dose insulin recommendations based on their body chemistry as well as a blood sample. The product is called the Diabetes Insulin Guidance System, but is often described as a GPS for diabetes, adjusting someone’s diabetes goals the way a GPS guides drivers on the road.

Meditrina, which is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is using patents from AstraZeneca to treat women’s health issues including endometriosis and uterine fibroids, which are abnormal growths or tumors that can cause pain and infertility. The company has completed Phase II trials on its two drugs – MPI-676 and MPI-674 – which treat endometriosis and abnormal uterine bleeding, respectively.

Orthopedics company Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) has agreed to sell a product line including the bone growth putty that has caused the company so much legal grief to Olympus Corp. for $60 million. Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Stryker plans to record a loss on the sale of its OP-1 product line of between $75 million and $80 million.