Biosite plans to accept Inverness buyout offer

THE REGION

Biosite Inc., a maker of emergency-room tests for heart disease, plans to accept a $1.6 billion buyout bid from Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. unless Beckman Coulter Inc. sweetens its offer. Beckman Coulter "will consider all of its options" including a revised proposal, the San Diego company said. The rival makers of medical tests and equipment want Biosite to gain more rapid tests from its research, analysts say. (Bloomberg)

Dusa Pharmaceuticals Inc. exaggerated in an advertisement how well its treatment for actinic keratosis worked, US regulators said. The ad for the topical solution Levulan Kerastick "raises significant public health and safety concerns" because it says the product is safer and works better than has been shown in studies or clinical experience, according to a warning letter posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website. Wilmington-based Dusa agreed to stop distributing the ad at the FDA's request. Dusa shares fell 15 cents to $3.20 on the Nasdaq. (Bloomberg)

Goodwin Procter, a 700-lawyer Boston law firm, has hired six intellectual-property partners from the Washington office of Hunton & Williams. Thomas J. Scott Jr., formerly chairman of Richmond-based Hunton's intellectual property group, will head the group in Goodwin's Washington office. Goodwin's clients include Global Imaging Systems Inc., Affinium Pharmaceuticals Inc., and State Street Corp., according to its website. Goodwin is the third-largest Boston law firm by number of lawyers. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION

A Marsh & McLennan Cos. data management unit agreed to pay New York State $60,000 after waiting seven weeks to notify the owner of information on a computer that the device was missing. Chicago-based CS Stars learned the computer was missing May 9 and notified the owner on June 29. In July, the FBI determined the computer had been stolen by an office cleaner. It contained names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of 540,000 New Yorkers receiving workers' compensation benefits. It was later found with the data intact. CS Stars didn't admit to violating the law. (Bloomberg)

SLM Corp. and Nelnet Inc. may have used illegal tactics to collect overdue student loan payments, US Senator Edward Kennedy said in letters seeking documents related to the allegations. In one instance, SLM, the biggest US student loan provider, might have put a borrower in default who lost his home in a natural disaster, Kennedy said in a letter to the company. Nelnet may have consolidated loans without the borrower's consent, Kennedy said in a separate request to that lender. The claims broaden allegations of abuses in the $85 billion student loan industry as lenders and schools face investigations by Kennedy's committee, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and other officials. (Bloomberg)

Federal regulators have concluded that Hollywood's efforts to shield children from violent TV shows have failed and that Congress should authorize government action. The Federal Communications Commission report promises to kick off a fierce fight on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign trail that could end up in the Supreme Court. Citing university and government studies, the FCC concluded that violent programming is harmful to children and said Congress could craft limits that wouldn't violate First Amendment rights. (Los Angeles Times)

THE WORLD

News Corp. will open a test version of its MySpace.com social-networking website in China, as Rupert Murdoch's media company looks to win advertising revenue in the world's second-biggest Internet market. Users will be able to interact with those on MySpace's international site, Luo Chuan, chief executive of the China site, said. China had 137 million Internet users at the end of 2006, according to government data. Sales of online ads may surge more than sevenfold to $3.1 billion in 2011 from $420 million in 2005, according to Credit Suisse Group. (Bloomberg)