While You Were Unassisted

There have only been 15 unassisted triple plays in Major League Baseball and maybe the one Eric Bruntlett turned on Sunday in the bottom of the ninth inning was the most unlikely. The Phillies' Bruntlett doesn't usually start and this season has been less than stellar at the plate and in the field; earlier in the inning he had an error. But there he was, catching a line drive, stepping on second, and tagging an overzealous Mets runner trying to advance from first. Unassisted triple play!

Who else needs no help? Closer to your world, Sen. Chuck Schumer is essentially saying: Republicans, who needs 'em? Bloomberg and others are reporting that Democrats are considering the unassisted route themselves, after Schumer's appearance on Meet the Press over the weekend where he discussed the Democrats' options for passing health care reform.

So expect the unexpected this final full week of August, you never know.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, Warner Chilcott--a specialty pharma focused on Women's health--is buying Procter and Gamble's pharma business for $3 billion. The sale isn't a huge surprise--P&G has been planning to exit pharmaceuticals in favor of OTC and consumer health for some time now. But the smaller WC beat out rivals Forest Labs and a handful of private equity suitors to land the deal, which will triple its revenue, notes the Journal. An announcement is expected today. UPDATE: It's official, and the price is $3.1 billion.
• Our devicey friends over at The Silver Sheet explain why medical device manufacturers’ employee training programs are under FDA scrutiny in a special report. You can check it out here.
• Fresh off exercising its option to acquire all of JP-1730/fipamezole via buying Juvantia, Swiss biotech Santhera has turned around and licensed North American rights to the Parkinson's dyskinesia candidate to Biovail. Santhera gets $8 million up-front plus another $4 million when the Juvantia deal closes. It is also eligible for $35 million in milestones related to a Phase III trial and regulatory approval of the compound, plus potential sales milestones and a sliding 8-15% royalty.


• The Philly Inquirer writes about pharmacos' various patient assistance programs, and how companies are loosening the guidelines for enrollment during the recession. Score one for Big Pharma PR.


• In the NYT, an update on Tom Daschle's whereabouts: he hasn't disappeared since withdrawing his nomination for HHS Sec.
• UCB and Novartis are getting cozier in Germany, where they've inked a deal to co-promote each others' cardiovascular and diabetes products.


• Novartis' Xolair has been approved for children in Europe with severe allergic asthma, reports Reuters.