Today’s dose is all about being careful — whether you’re a drug manufacturer, research administrator, or a patient. Read and digest with caution.

— Genzyme is in need of a cure for its production woes, according to reports. The New York Times today profiled patients who have had difficulty finding Genzyme’s medications for two rare diseases, Gaucher and Fabry. The shortage stems from the company shutting down its main Boston plant, which had recent incidents including viral contamination.

— Up north, Canada’s largest drug company, Apotex, is having problems of its own. The generics manufacturer received a letter from the US Food and Drug Administration late last month over poor reporting of violations. Among the mentioned incidents, the agency cited instances of cross-contamination between drugs due to inadequately cleaned equipment. (NYTimes)

— The US National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program is at a “breaking point,” says an Institute of Medicine report. The program enrolls more than 25,000 patients a year, but the IOM committee believes that inefficient administration and poor follow-through on studies is slowing progress in an age with so much genetic and other information available. (Reuters)

— Morphine might protect cells against the neurotoxic effects of HIV, according to research being presented at a meeting of the Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology. The study found in rats that morphine inhibited the toxic HIV protein gp120, which mediates viral infection, perhaps by inducing production of an immunoprotective protein. (ScienceDaily)

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