CHINA GIVES BOOST TO BIOTECH – China approved a stimulus plan to help the nation’s biotech industry. The plan is aimed at making biotech a “pillar technology industry” and includes preferential tax policies and measures to help biotech companies raise capital. (If you happen to speak Chinese, you can read Premier Wen Jiabao’s statement on the stimulus package here.)

FDA NOMINEE CLEARS COMMITTEE HURDLE – Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Obama’s pick to head FDA, was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday. Next, she’ll face a full Senate vote.

Hamburg was immensely popular with the committee. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced her by saying he had worked closely with her father on nuclear disarmament issues. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said, “We need a highly qualified leader like Dr. Hamburg,” and pointed to Hamburg’s undergraduate and medical school degrees from Harvard University; various policy and science positions with the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health; six years as commissioner of health for New York City; and most recently a stint at a think tank in Washington, D.C., the Nuclear Threat Initiative, working on manmade and natural biological threats…

Nearly all the consumer advocacy groups have lined up solidly behind Hamburg.

BIO’S GOT A BRAND NEW BLOG – Actually, it’s way more than a blog. BIO’s recently re-launched BIOtech NOW features a wealth of great posts, podcasts and videos covering a range of issues impacting biotech. Make sure to check out “Jim’s Corner“, the new blog by BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.