Briefs

A year after Japan’s earthquake and tsunami sent global automakers scrambling for parts, the industry faces a potentially serious disruption from another disaster. A March 31 explosion at German chemical maker Evonik Industries halved the global output of PA-12, an ingredient used to make a resin in brake and fuel lines. About 200 executives from major automobile manufacturers and suppliers met in Detroit on April 17 to find new sources of the resin. Securing alternatives quickly may be difficult because PA-12 is used in safety-related equipment such as brake systems. So any replacements would have to be tested before production.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that generic-drug makers have the right to challenge whether brand-name rivals overstate the reach of their patents. Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories argued that it could sue Novo Nordisk for filing documents with the Food and Drug Administration that described Novo’s diabetes drug patent in ways that covered more uses than the patent allowed. Such descriptions are used by the FDA when evaluating requests by companies looking to make generic versions.