Pharma Roundup: Lawsuit for Roche, Teva Troubles for AstraZeneca, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Roche faces $13 million lawsuit -- Three patients who developed inflammatory bowel disease after taking the acne drug Accutane have been awarded $12,895,500. Hoffman-La Roche, the U.S. unit of Roche, will foot the bill. [Source: Pharmalot]

Teva takes aim at AstraZeneca -- Israel's big generics maker has announced FDA approval for its version of AZ's Pulmicort Respules, an asthma treatment. AZ has already initiated legal action against Teva, claiming it still owns intellectual rights to the compound; if the courts rule against Teva it will owe AstraZeneca triple damages. But Teva is no stranger to this game, having pulled a similar stunt on Wyeth last December. [Source: WSJ]

New exec at AZ -- Speaking of AstraZeneca, Rich Fante is the company's new U.S. president. [Source: PharmaGossip]

Novartis, Cambridge, and high hopes -- Derek Lowe has written an interesting glimpse into a Cambridge, Mass. research facility owned by Novartis. The facility was said to be revolutionary when it was new, in the early 2000's, but Lowe says it's fairly ordinary now. [Source: In Vivo blog]