In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

  • A new arthritis drug from GSK moves toward regulatory approval
  • The state of Washington is suing tech support firm iYogi, alleging it scams customers
  • Streaming music fees are going up
  • The FDA approves a cheaper diabetes drug

The details:

  • GSK’s proposed new arthritis drug advances

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline may get a new arthritis drug approved next year.

The company says its proposed drug “sirukumab” achieved positive results in three clinical studies. The drug could be submitted for regulatory approval next year.

Read more from Reuters at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/gsk-arthritis-idUSL8N1453AB20151216

  • Washington state sues firm, alleges tech support scam

Washington state sued one of the world’s largest independent tech support companies Wednesday, saying it routinely scams customers into buying software and services they don’t need.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed the lawsuit against the U.S. operations of iYogi, an India-based company which boasts of 3 million customers and which announced over the summer that it was opening its first U.S. technical support center in Lewiston, Maine. The complaint also names the company’s co-founder and president, Vishal Dhar, of New York, as a defendant.

During a news conference, Ferguson said iYogi representatives often take remote control of the computers of people who seek help, make ominous warnings flash on the screen and then tell them they need to spend money to fix the virus — typically technical support plans costing $150 to $380, or sometimes $80 for antivirus software.

The company also falsely represents that it’s affiliated with major hardware and software companies, including Apple, Microsoft and HP, the complaint said, and even sometimes claims consumers must upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 at a cost of $80 to $199 — even though Microsoft offers the upgrade for free.

“After gaining remote access to the consumer’s computer, iYogi identifies complex-looking files and claims these infected files harm the computer,” Ferguson said. “iYogi misleads the consumer into believing he or she must download iYogi’s diagnostic software to fully identify these alleged computer problems.”

An iYogi representative said in an email Wednesday evening the company did not have an immediate comment.

Microsoft’s chief legal officer, Brad Smith, joined the news conference and said iYogi is one of the companies that Microsoft receives the most complaints about. Both he and Ferguson described the scam as a common one online, defrauding 3 million people in the U.S. of more than $1 billion a year.

“Tech support scams have become a scourge on the Internet,” Smith said. “These individuals are not on the phone to help consumers. They’re on the phone to take consumers’ money.”

  • Judges hike rates for music streamers; Pandora shares jump

A panel of copyright judges has raised the amount Internet music streaming services like Pandora must pay to record labels next year and beyond, potentially easing concerns artists have about being paid fairly for such streams.

The Copyright Royalty Board on Wednesday raised the rate for free streaming services to 17 cents per hundred plays, up from 14 cents. For paid subscription services, the rate fell to 22 cents from 25 cents. Both rates will rise with inflation through 2020.

Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews said in a statement the increase was “balanced” and one it “can work with and grow from.”

Pandora says its blended rate will rise 15 percent.

Pandora Media Inc. shares jumped 21 percent in after-hours trading following the decision to $16.25.

  • FDA approves cheaper version of top-selling diabetes drug

Federal health officials have approved a cheaper version of the world’s top-selling insulin from Sanofi for U.S. patients with the most common form of diabetes.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new form of Sanofi’s pen-like injector, called Lantus, from drugmakers Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Those companies received tentative FDA approval for their drug in August 2014. But the launch was delayed by a patent dispute with Sanofi.

Insulin is crucial for controlling the sugar levels in the blood. People with diabetes either do not produce enough insulin or cannot properly use it.

Lantus is the top product for Sanofi and the third best-selling medicine in the world by revenue. British research firm GlobalData says Lantus had sales of $12.4 billion in 2014.