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Roche beats forecasts on new drugs and one-off gain

By Ludwig Burger BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) – Switzerland's Roche beat market expectations for adjusted net income in the first six months of the year, helped by cancer drug sales but also inflated by a one-off gain from its pensions scheme. Core earnings per share, adjusted for certain items, rose 7 percent to 7.74 Swiss francs ($7.86), where analysts had expected 7.52 francs on average. Deutsche Bank analyst Tim Race said that excluding that effect, results were broadly in line with expectations.

Golf-De Jonge puts PGA Tour card before Olympics

Brendon de Jonge has become the latest golfer to opt out of the Rio Olympics but unlike other players who have cited fears over the Zika virus, the Zimbabwean has withdrawn to focus on keeping his PGA Tour card. De Jonge, who currently sits 160th in FedEx Cup points and has work to do to maintain his Tour card, has decided to play two events on the PGA Tour during the Olympics in August. “I am truly disappointed, but my current position on the FedEx Cup points list does not allow me the luxury to skip the John Deere Classic or the Travelers Championship,” the 35-year-old said in a statement.

Novartis and Xencor enter into bispecific antibody agreement

Novartis has received rights with Xencor to develop bispecific antibodies for treating cancer. “Under the terms of the agreement, Xencor is receiving a $150 million upfront payment from Novartis and the two companies will equally share the cost to jointly develop two Xencor antibodies targeting the CD3 domain,” Novartis said. Novartis would additionally receive rights to develop and commercialize four further bispecific antibodies and to use Xencor's antibody technology in up to 10 additional molecules, the companies said.

Edible bug industry hopes crickets and kin are the next sushi

By Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) – Just like raw tuna is a favorite of foodies everywhere, Robert Nathan Allen foresees a day when crickets will make their way onto consumers' plates. A growing need for more food sources as well as a desire to treat animals more humanely have proponents predicting entomophagy, or eating insects, will eventually spread more heavily to western and developed countries. “Sushi took 30, 40 years to really become a normal thing, but kale took like five years and kale's not even very tasty,” said Allen, head of Austin, Texas-based Little Herds, a nonprofit founded to educate the public on the nutritional and environmental benefits of edible insects.

Valeant gets notice of default from bondholders

(Reuters) – Beleaguered Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said it received a notice of default from bondholders for the delay in filing its first-quarter report. Last week, Valeant had said it expected to file the report with U.S. and Canadian regulators on or before June 10, ahead of a July 31 deadline. Valeant had been one of the pharmaceutical industry's most widely owned stocks as its steady stream of acquisitions fueled strong gains in its shares.

Australia blames refugee advocates after asylum seeker sets herself alight

By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia blamed refugee advocates on Tuesday for “encouraging” asylum seekers held in remote camps towards acts of self-harm after a woman set herself on fire, while the United Nations renewed its criticism of Australia's harsh immigration policy. Australian officials said an unidentified 21-year-old Somali woman was in a critical condition after she set herself alight at an Australian detention camp on the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru on Monday, the second such incident in a week. A 23-year-old Iranian man also set himself on fire last week in protest against his treatment on Nauru and later died.

Teens most drawn to e-cigarettes by online ads

To see which e-cigarette ad formats were most persuasive to teens, researchers analyzed data from a recent nationwide survey of about 22,000 middle school and high school students from grades 6 through 12, when youth are typically about 12 to 18 years old. When middle school kids said they routinely viewed e-cigarette ads online, they were almost three times more likely to use the devices than their peers who never saw ads. “E-cigarette ads use many of the same themes used to sell cigarettes and other conventional tobacco products, such as independence, rebellion and sex,” said lead study author Dr. Tushar Singh of the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

U.S. condemns ‘severe response’ to protests in tumultuous Gambia

The United States condemned on Sunday what it said was a “severe response to recent peaceful protests” in The Gambia, where a party youth leader has been killed and some senior opposition leaders arrested. One of the people arrested was Ousainu Darboe, leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), along with supporters and party officials who had gathered at his home. “The United States condemns the government of The Gambia’s severe response to recent peaceful protests. We call for an immediate end to violence and urge all Gambians to exercise restraint,” said John Kirby, a State Department spokesperson.  The Gambia is headed by President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has made headlines for eccentric proclamations, including a claim to have invented a cure for HIV/AIDS.