Business Briefs

WASHINGTON — The government's watchdog agency is investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration's drug-review process cleared two blockbuster medications without sufficient proof of their safety or effectiveness.

Sen. Charles Grassley said Tuesday the Government Accountability Office has agreed to study a much-debated method for approving drugs used to clear GlaxoSmithKline PLC's diabetes pill Avandia and Merck & Co. Inc. and Schering-Plough's cholesterol drug Vytorin.

The Iowa Republican requested the investigation after recent studies suggested the drugs may not lower the risk of heart attack and artery-clogging plaque, as assumed by millions of patients and doctors.

WASHINGTON — There were fewer accidents and deaths involving trains in the U.S. last year, but more railroad incidents involving hazardous materials.

Last year, 486 people nationwide were killed after trespassing on railroad lines compared with 518 deaths in 2006. Another 339 fatalities involving trains and a car or truck, 30 fewer than in 2006, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The number of fatalities rose in 2006 compared with the previous year. The total number of train accidents — including derailments, collisions or other accidents — fell by nearly 14 percent last year to 2,547.

A troubling area of incidents that did rise last year involved railroad cars that released hazardous materials, which jumped to 43 reports from 28 in 2006.

More trains carrying ethanol and relatively new technologies used to safely release the fuel likely contributed to that increase, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman told reporters during a conference call Tuesday.

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. says it expects to bring its first lithium-ion battery powered hybrid engine system to market in North America in 2010.

The world's largest automaker by sales was to announce the hybrid system Tuesday at the Geneva International Motor Show, saying the new battery will deliver three times the power of GM's current nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

Automakers and battery companies across the globe have been racing to develop lithium-ion technology, seen by many as the key to mass producing hybrid vehicles powered by conventional and electric motors. The batteries also are essential in producing the next generation of electric cars.

Daimler AG plans to introduce a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Mercedes-Benz flagship S-Class luxury sedan that also uses a lithium-ion battery starting next year.

NEW YORK — Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday said that nine of its U.S. executives plan to retire by the end of the year, sparking speculation that the automaker may be looking to revamp its executive lineup in the midst of an increasingly tough U.S. sales environment.

The retiring executives include Dave Illingworth, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Illingworth, 64, will leave Jan. 1 after a career of nearly 30 years at the automaker.

Alan DeCarr, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Logistics Services, will retire July 1. DeCarr, 56, joined the company in 1971. And Jim Aust, vice president for motorsports and president and chief executive of Toyota Racing Development, will retire on July 1. Aust, 64, joined Toyota in 1987.

Xavier Dominicis, a Toyota spokesman, said the retirements are nothing unusual, noting that several of the departing executives have been with the company for more than 20 years.

DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health Inc., a provider of health care products and services, said Tuesday it is buying Enturia Inc. for $490 million in a deal that will allow Cardinal to expand its products that hospitals can use to prevent patients from getting infections.

Hospitals and surgical centers rely on privately held Enturia's ChloraPrep liquid products to disinfect patients' skin before surgical and vascular procedures to help prevent infections.

Over the past two years, sales at Leawood, Kan.-based Enturia have risen more than 70 percent to approximately $140 million in 2007. The deal is expected to close in two months.

CHICAGO — The state-backed sports agency that wants to buy and renovate Wrigley Field expects to make a formal offer to Tribune Co. for the historic baseball park next week or the week after, its chairman said Tuesday.

Former Gov. James Thompson said the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which has been looking into a Wrigley purchase since December at Tribune owner Sam Zell's request, still is assessing the cost of needed restoration work at the 94-year-old stadium.

Thompson said the agency, which also owns the Chicago White Sox's U.S. Cellular Field, remains determined to do the deal at no cost to taxpayers and to retain Wrigley's character.

The Associated Press