Novartis, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Teva

– PharmaLive’s Novartis Ships Flu Vaccine to US covers Novartis’ announcement that it has begun shipment of its seasonal influenza vaccines to customers in the US market. Novartis plans to ship a minimum of 30 million doses of its seasonal influenza vaccines to US customers for the 2013-2014 flu season

– ABC News‘ Amgen Buying Cancer Drug Maker Onyx for $10.4B provides details on biotech drugmaker Amgen buying cancer drug maker Onyx Pharmaceuticals in a deal that will add several cancer drugs to Amgen’s stable and add to its pipeline of new drugs

– Once again AstraZeneca is breaking new ground in social media drug promotion. It has posted a branded promotion for its breast cancer drug Arimidex on AZ Health Connections, which is “A blog for AstraZeneca’s US business.” Pharma Marketing Blog opines AstraZeneca Posts an Arimidex DTC Ad on Its Corporate Blog – Will It Go Viral? 

– With plans to discover new treatments for decreasing insulin resistance in obesity and diabetes, Pharmaceutical Business Review reports Sanford-Burnham, Pfizer Partner to Find New Treatment for Diabetes. The collaboration will leverage novel screening tools such as systems-biology approaches and technologies developed at Sanford-Burnham

– Teva CEO Wants to Hook Up with Brazil, China Partners from FiercePharma shares Teva Pharmaceutical Industries CEO Jeremy Levin’s plan to expand in Brazil and China. The two emerging markets, among the fastest-growing in the world, offer plenty of opportunity for the generics giant to build its drug portfolio