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Thu. Mar. 22, 2012 Sanofi loses appeal in Roche suit over Rituxan, Avastin French drug maker Sanofi SA lost an appeals court ruling on its patent-infringement claims against Roche Holding AG’s Genentech and Biogen Idec Inc. for the cancer drugs Rituxan and Avastin. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that the drugs don’t infringe two Sanofi patents. Biogen Idec is based in Weston. Sanofi has a big local presence following its recent acquisition of Genzyme, a biotech company headquartered in Cambridge.	Advertisement
Recommendation from state pension fund panel: Put custody banking services out to bid The state pension fund’s audit committee on Thursday voted to recommend to the full board that it put its custody banking services, currently handled by Bank of New York Mellon Corp., out to bid. State Treasurer Steve Grossman said the $2.7 million contract does not come due until 2014, but that he wants to “go out and test the marketplace.” Grossman said, “It’s important that no one thinks they have a lock on the business.”
SEC orders hedge fund manager to pay $7.5m A federal judge in Boston this week ordered a 28-year-old who claimed to be a hedge fund manager to pay $7.5 million for defrauding investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Andrey C. Hicks of Boston and his Locust Offshore Management engaged in a scheme to mislead investors and diverted $2.7 million of their money to his personal bank accounts, the SEC said.
Stop & Shop will no longer buy ‘finely textured beef’ The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. said that it will no longer purchase fresh ground beef containing so-called “finely textured beef.” Quincy-based Stop & Shop said it was reacting to customer concerns over the issue while noting that the US Department of Agriculture has indicated that this product is safe for consumption. Finely textured beef is a term used for ammonia-treated ground beef filler. Critics have branded it as “pink slime.”
Charles Street AME Church auction postponed until July after bankruptcy filing The auction of the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, originally scheduled for Thursday morning, has been postponed until summer after the church filed for federal bankruptcy protection. The auction company, Paul E. Saperstein Co. of Holbrook, posted a note on its web site saying the “auction has been continued due to bankruptcy” until July 19.
Travertson Motorcycles turns to SolidWorks The Waltham office of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. said today that Travertson Motorcycles is using a variety of its design tools to develop new motorcycles, more evidence that Greater Boston is emerging as a hub for vehicle design work. Company engineers in Waltham have already been at work improving digital tools used by major automakers such as Ford, Honda, BMW, Jaguar, and Land Rover.
Mass. unemployment rate held steady in Feb. at 6.9 percent The Massachusetts economy added 9,100 jobs in February as the state unemployment rate held steady at 6.9 percent for the third consecutive month, the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday morning. Nearly all the new jobs came from the private sector. The national unemployment rate, in contrast, is 8.3 percent. The Massachusetts report also revised the figures for January. The local economy added 13,900 jobs that month, up from a previous estimate of 6,600 jobs.
Billboards salute Franklin Park Zoo’s 100th anniversary The Boston division of Clear Channel Outdoor said it is donating billboard space to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Franklin Park Zoo. The digital billboards display the message, “Franklin Park Zoo, Opening Eyes for 100 Years”, with the eyes of many actual zoo residents peeking out to motorists. The boards are visible along Interstate-93 near Fulbright Street in Medford, on Interstate-93 just north of Exit 31 in Medford, and on Interstate-495 Exit 45 in Lawrence.
EMC CEO Tucci earned $13.2 million in 2011 Data storage giant EMC Corp.’s chief executive Joe Tucci was paid more than $13.2 million in 2011, around $700,000 more than he made in the previous year, according to company documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The compensation included a salary of $1 million, roughly $10 million in stock and options awards, and an incentive plan compensation of $2.1 million in cash. Included among Tucci’s other compensation for the year was $110,000 for air travel.
Lawyers for Charles Street AME church to appear in bankruptcy court on Thursday Lawyers for the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church are scheduled to appear in federal bankruptcy court in Boston Thursday to seek permission to continue paying wages to employees and other matters. About 250 members of the congregation voted to move forward with the bankruptcy filing in a three-hour meeting at the church on Tuesday night, on the advice of lawyers and the church’s board of trustees. But the move to save the church could prove costly for some smaller creditors.
FDA advisory panel recommends against approval of bone sarcoma treatment developed by Cambridge biotech Ariad Pharmaceuticals Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed nearly 1.5 percent Wednesday despite a vote by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee that dealt a setback to the first cancer-fighting drug developed by the Cambridge biotechnology company. The panel’s 13-to-1 vote to recommend against approval of Ariad-developed Ridaforolimus, a treatment for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma and bone sarcoma being marketed by drug maker Merck & Co., sent Ariad shares down in after-market trading Tuesday. But investors apparently viewed the dip as a “buying opportunity” as they looked to capitalize on Ariad’s planned third-quarter new drug application for Ponatinib, a much-anticipated drug to treat chronic myeloid leukemia that could become a major anti-cancer therapy, according to a note to investors by Ryan Martins, analyst for Lazard Capital Markets.
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