A rising tide lifts all boats, but GSK’s Avandia trial looks to be sinking fast. Fortunately, surfs up for children’s medication, which is riding a wave of increased spending.

— After reportedly agreeing to settle 700 lawsuits to the tune of $60 million for its blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline is now having a tough time recruiting patients for its so-called TIDE trial. Two study sites involved with TIDE, including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, have now pulled out of the trial due to low enrollment. (WSJ)

— The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs to lift its cloak of secrecy and make more information public, according to the agency’s transparency task force, which includes many of the FDA’s top brass. Among the recommendations was a call for wider disclosure of letters to companies explaining why the agency rejected products or drug applications. (Reuters)

— Drug spending for children in the US grew nearly 11% last year, according to Medco Health Systems. That’s more than any other age group and almost three times more than the average increase for the population as a whole. Buoying the surge in spending was a 5% uptick in prescription drug use among the under-19 crowd. (WSJ)

— How’s my deriving? Of stem cells that. That’s in effect the question the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is deciding whether to ask of the US Institute of Medicine when the stem cell agency’s new science subcommittee mulls over the idea of an independent evaluation at its meeting next week. Meanwhile, California legislators are also considering new rules requiring performance audits of the agency. (California Stem Cell Report)

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