Author | George Koroneos, Online Content & News Editor

Drug manufacturers came under fire at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce?s health subcommittee for bumping drug prices 10 percent this year. Pharma claims rumors that it?s boosting costs in anticipation of healthcare reform are baseless, but the industry could be facing an uphill battle.

With the fourth quarter quickly coming to a close, talks of job cuts are once again in the air. The first major layoffs could be coming at Sanofi-Aventis, which is rumored to be slashing up to 1,500 positions.

Nearly 70 pharma execs, new media mavens, and even Joe Q. Public packed last week's FDA social media hearings to plead for some form of guidance on how to handle Tweets, blog comments, and off label discussions online.

Following through with its promise to waste no time in merging Wyeth and Pfizer, the pharma giant announced restructuring plans for its global research network.