Pharma Roundup: Novartis Courts India, Allergan Partners With Spectrum, and More

Novartis tempts India’s brightest — The Swiss company’s Biotech Leadership Camp will try to attract the subcontinent’s top talent into its laboratories. It is Novartis’s first big move in India since an acrimonious intellectual property court ruling in 2007. [Source: Pharmalot]

Allergan and Spectrum forge $345 million partnership — The two companies will jointly develop and market the bladder cancer treatment apaziquone. Spectrum will sell the drug in Asia and Allergan will peddle it to the rest of the world–except in the U.S., where they will cooperate. [Source: FierceBiotech]

Insurance shares the guilt — Much attention has fallen on the pharmaceutical industry lately for gifts and compensation to medical professionals. Ed Silverman, at Pharmalot, brings up the fact that the insurance industry uses many of the same tactics. Insurance representatives just used an expensive dinner to encourage doctors to prescribe generics–cheaper for them to cover. [Source: Pharmalot]

Judge denies shareholders expedited Lilly/ImClone lawsuit — The ImClone investors who brought the suit against the buyout, citing an inadequate price, had requested official expedition of the trial. The request would have brought merger documents before the court. [Source: Reuters]