News
$2.5B IS OFFERED FOR drug DEVELOPER
Looking for a share of a market that is growing fast, Bristol-Myers will spend $2.5 billion to acquire hepatitis C drug developer Inhibitex Inc., which saw its share price double in one day recently on early stage data of a treatment it is developing.
About 3.2 million people in the United States have hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease linked to 12,000 deaths a year. The current two-drug treatment for the virus cures about 40 percent of people. The disease, the primary cause of liver transplants in the United States, is expected to affect an increasingly large percentage of the population as baby boomers age.
For Inhibitex, based in Alpharetta, Ga., the acquisition provides a launching pad for its drug. In the last full year of reported operations, the company posted losses of more than $20 million as it continued to develop INX-189.
New York
Lockout endangers opera for season
New York City Opera's future darkened this weekend when the company declared a lockout for the first rehearsal of the season, scheduled for today, amid a labor dispute with its unions. The impasse raises the possibility that the struggling company may have to cancel its first production, La Traviata, and possibly the season. The move came after mediated talks broke down on Saturday night.
Malaysia
Opposition chief freed of sodomy charge
Malaysia's High Court acquitted opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomizing a former aide, citing unreliable DNA evidence in a verdict today that surprised supporters who saw the case as an attempt to sideline him. Anwar has long maintained that Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition concocted the charge to damage his chances of leading the opposition to an election victory. Najib, who is expected to call for elections this year, denies plotting against Anwar.
North Korea
New leader declared a 'military genius'
North Korea's state-run television Sunday called its young untested leader, Kim Jong Un, a "military genius" and showed him driving a tank, sitting in the cockpit of a warplane, and interacting with soldiers in a youthful display of camaraderie that was unlike the more solemn style of his late father. The broadcast, a documentary on North Korea's Central TV, also claimed that Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, oversaw the April 2009 test-launching of the country's long-range rocket.
Elsewhere
China: The body of a Tibetan monk who died after setting himself on fire was paraded through the streets in northwestern China, a report said today, in the latest in a series of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule in Tibet. U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia said angry Tibetans forced police to hand over the remains of the 42-year-old monk, named Sopa, then carried them through the streets in Dari county in Qinghai province.
Britain: The remains found on one of Queen Elizabeth's vast estates belong to a 17-year-old missing girl, British detectives investigating the murder said Sunday. Forensic tests identified the decomposed body as that of Latvian Alisa Dmitrijeva, who was reported missing in August.
Israel: The Justice Ministry said it has indicted five alleged Jewish extremists in connection with a rampage at an army base in the West Bank last month.
Times wires
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