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Rampant Bayern hit five past Anderlecht

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Bayern Munich virtually made sure of their place in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with a 5-0 demolition of Belgian side Anderlecht in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday.

The German giants were in front after just nine minutes when Turkish international Hamit Altintop found the target with a superb 30-meter drive.

The night got more comfortable for Bayern, who were missing rested goalkeeper Oliver Kahn as well as the injured Lucio and Ze Roberto, when Anderlecht’s Polish defender Marcin Wasilewski was sent off for a foul on Luca Toni on the stroke of half-time.

Italian international striker Toni added the second goal for Bayern in first half injury time before Lukas Podolski made it 3-0 in the 57th minute.

Miroslav Klose, who came on as a half-time substitute, put away the fourth goal in the 67th minute from a pass from fellow-replacement Frank Ribery.

French midfielder Ribery completed the scoring with a 20-meter free-kick four minutes from the end as Bayern celebrated their first win in five European visits to Anderlecht.

I’m very happy, said Ribery. It’s always special to score a free-kick like that.

It was a good match for us. We are the favorites for the UEFA Cup and I really believe that if we play all of our matches as seriously as this one then we can do it. E-mail to a friend

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CAS asked to solve Paris-Nice impasse

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — World sport’s highest appeal court is looking for a solution to allow riders to compete in the Paris-Nice cycling race.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has been asked to intervene in the dispute by the association of cycling’s elite teams, International Professional Cycling Teams.

The IPCT acted after its members and individual riders were threatened with fines and suspensions by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI.

We have received the case and we are working on it at the moment. We hope to have some news by Friday, said CAS spokeswoman Katy Hogg.

The eight-day Paris-Nice race, the first major event of the European season, is scheduled to start on Sunday.

The buildup has been overshadowed by a bitter dispute between the UCI and the French organizers, Amaury Sports Organization.

ASO, which also operates the Tour de France, angered the governing body by deciding to run the Paris-Nice race outside UCI control.

The race is scheduled to start under the authority of the French national cycling federation, with doping controls carried out by the French national agency.

In a statement, the IPCT said the teams and their riders are caught between a rock and a hard place. We did not want to take part in this conflict, but must protect the interests of members.

The organization asked CAS to decide if the teams and riders can compete without facing further sanctions from the governing body.

We are not part of this decision to go to the arbitration court, UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani said. Maybe CAS will approach UCI but we have to wait and see.

The cycling union first urged riders to boycott the race, then warned them earlier this week of the consequences of taking part. Sanctions include a suspension of up to six months, fines of up to $9,690, and exclusion from the world championships.

Two British riders, Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins, chose not to compete in Paris-Nice because they feared the sanctions could jeopardize their eligibility for the Beijing Olympics.

Teams were threatened with similar fines, a suspension of their UCI registration, and withdrawal of their license to compete in the UCI Pro Tour. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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GSK avoids punishment over antidepressant

LONDON, England (AP) — Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has escaped prosecution for allegedly withholding data on clinical trials of its antidepressant drug Seroxat.

Clinical trials have indicated that people under age 18 who took the medication had an increased risk of suicide.

However, Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Thursday that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction in the case when it announced the conclusion of a four-year review.

The legislation in force at the time was not sufficiently strong or comprehensive as to require companies to inform the regulator of safety information when the drug was being used for, or tested outside its licensed indications, the agency said. The drug was only licensed for adults.

Glaxo handed over data from clinical trials in 2003 which indicated that patients under 18 had a higher risk of suicidal behavior if they were treated with Seroxat compared to those receiving a placebo. The research also indicated that Seroxat was ineffective in treating depressive illness in those aged under 18.

We firmly believe we acted properly and responsibly in first carrying out this important clinical trials program and then informing the regulatory agencies when we identified a potential increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in patients under 18, said Dr. Alastair Benbow, medical director for GlaxoSmithKline’s European operations.

Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of Britain’s Mental Health Foundation, criticized the agency’s decision.

It is totally unacceptable to hear that, when information can be made available at speed, young people may have taken their own lives due to a lack of transparency by a pharmaceutical company, McCulloch said.

MHRA chief executive Kent Woods said he was still concerned that Glaxo could and should have reported this information earlier than they did.

This investigation has revealed important weaknesses in the drug safety legislation in force at the time, Woods said.

Subsequent legislation has partially addressed the problem, but we will take immediate steps to ensure the law is strengthened further, so that there can be no doubt as to companies obligations to report safety issues.

Glaxo pledged its cooperation.

GSK is committed to working with the Government, appropriate regulatory authorities and other pharmaceutical companies to take whatever action is necessary to improve legislation and policy in this area, Benbow said.

GlaxoSmithKline shares were down 1.2 percent on the London Stock Exchange at midday at 1052 pence ($20.88).
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