Year: 2013

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Biogen Idec is to take full ownership of blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri after agreeing to pay Irish partner Elan $3.25 billion plus future royalties on sales of the drug. The deal gives Elan strategic flexibility to buy new assets but leaves unclear the future direction of the company, since Tysabri was by far its most important product. Sales of Tysabri, which provides Elan with almost all of its revenue, rose 8 percent to $1.6 billion last year. A filing last month for approval to sell the drug as a first-line treatment for could boost sales further. …

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The medical marijuana shop next to a tattoo parlor on a busy street in Los Angeles looks much like hundreds of other pot dispensaries that dot the city. Except for one thing: On the glass door – under a green cross signaling that cannabis can be bought there for medical purposes – is a sticker for the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), the nation's largest retail union. The dispensary, the Venice Beach Care Center, is one of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles that are staffed by dues-paying union members. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, already deeply immersed in high-profile domestic policy, is finding that his clout extends to foreign affairs as well, as he plays a top surrogate role for President Barack Obama in the early days of their second term. Biden is now in many ways viewed as Obama's "Mr. Fix-it," who struck a crucial budget deal in January and who is able to navigate his way comfortably through Washington's complex power structure with a back-slapping joviality that Democrats find endearing despite the occasional verbal misstep. …