Serica doubles the size of its Medford headquarters

Serica Technologies Inc., a privately held medical device company, says it has doubled the size of its Medford headquarters to 22,000 square feet. The company, which has 30 employees, has a relationship with nearby Tufts University. Serica said it is beginning to manufacture a natural silk material to help stabilize ligaments and tendons following surgery to repair connective issue. (Todd Wallack)

Marlborough's Sepracor Inc. said it signed a deal giving GlaxoSmithKline PLC rights to sell its eszopiclone, known as Lunesta, insomnia treatment in markets worldwide, excluding North America and Japan. The deal is worth $155 million if all milestones are met, Sepracor said. Sepracor will receive double-digit royalties that escalate as product sales increase, along with compensation for supplying the drug. GlaxoSmithKline will sell the products, which are under review by European regulators, as Lunivia. Shares of Sepracor closed at $28.24, up 85 cents. (AP)

VMware Inc., the maker of software that lets computer servers run multiple operating systems, bought closely held Dunes Technologies Inc., its first acquisition since it went public last month. Dunes's software will help VMware clients automatically coordinate and manage the workload between the different programs. Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed, VMware said. California's VMware, whose $1.1 billion initial public offering was the biggest by a technology company since Google Inc.'s in 2004, competes with Microsoft Corp. and XenSource Inc. Dunes is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Bloomberg)

Boston Globe Media announced yesterday the November launch of Lola, a lifestyle magazine for women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The magazine, with a planned print run of about 45,000 copies, will be available free at 800 locations throughout Greater Boston; starting in January, Lola will appear monthly. Boston Globe Media, a unit of The New York Times Co., includes The Boston Globe, Boston.com, GlobeDirect, and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Lola will be the third niche publication Globe Media has launched within the last year, following Design New England and Fashion Boston. "We are strategically pursuing new markets and niche segments by developing a portfolio of publications that meet the targeted needs of advertisers and audiences," Globe publisher Steve Ainsley said in a statement. (Globe Staff)

The Senate voted to ban Mexican trucks from US roadways, rekindling a more than decade-old trade dispute with Mexico. By a 74-24 vote, the Senate approved a proposal by Senator Byron Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat, prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on a North American Free Trade Agreement pilot program giving Mexican trucks access to US highways. The proposal is part of a $106 billion transportation and housing spending bill the Senate hopes to vote on later this week. The House approved a similar provision to Dorgan's in July as part of its version of the transportation spending bill. (AP)

Microsoft Corp. released four software patches to fix security flaws, including one that could allow hackers to take over computers running the company's instant messaging programs. Only one of the flaws carried the company's most severe "critical" rating, but it only applies to the Windows 2000 operating system. To be affected, users would have to visit a website and install a program that could then run malicious code on their computers, said Mark Griesi, a security program manager at the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker. (AP)

Dogged by record flight delays, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said airlines need to shrink their schedules or potentially face government action. "The airlines need to take a step back on scheduling practices that are at times out of line with reality," FAA administrator Marion Blakey said. Blakey said the agency is particularly concerned about overcrowded skies and airports along the East Coast, saying "if the airlines don't address this voluntarily, don't be surprised when the government steps in." (AP)

NEED MORE?

Get local business news updates from The Boston Globe on the Business Ticker, at boston.com/business/ticker. And for big picture business stories, go to the Business Filter, updated every weekday at boston.com/business/blog/filter.