AstraZeneca (AZN) has had a good week with its anticlotting drug Brilinta (ticagrelor). It impressed many observers by announcing positive results of a late-stage head-to-head study and a mid-stage study for Brilinta, and on Thursday, it said it had filed for Food and Drug Administration approval. Brilinta could be on the way to becoming a megablockbuster drug.

Study results for the experimental drug -- which fights acute coronary syndrome -- were first presented Sunday. For the study's 8,430 sickest patients, those taking the drug suffered fewer serious cardiovascular events (or deaths) than those taking Plavix, from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY).

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), despite all its efforts and diversification, couldn't escape doing what most pharmaceutical companies have done in the face of increasing pressures from generic-drug companies and the recession. J&J said on Tuesday it plans to cut 6 percent to 7 percent of its workforce of approximately 117,000 in a bid to prop up profits.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company said the cuts, mostly achieved through reducing layers of management, will affect some 7,000 to 8,000 worldwide. But today is Election Day in the company's base state, and one cannot help but wonder if the timing of such an announcement from one of the largest private employers in New Jersey isn't politically motivated in support of the challengers in the three-way race for governor, or at least against the Democratic incumbent, Jon Corzine.

Profits and sales are down for another quarter at UPS (UPS), but investors will be looking ahead to the upcoming holiday season to see if the world's largest shipping carrier - and the U.S. economy - are truly on the road to recovery.

The Atlanta-based company said Thursday its net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell more than 43 percent to $549 million, or 55 cents a share, compared to a profit of $970 million, or 96 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue dropped almost 15 percent to $11.2 billion from $13.1 billion a year ago.

The latest snapshot on the economy by the Federal Reserve helped drive shares down in late-day trading Wednesday in New York and appear to be weighing on stock futures ahead of Thursday's opening bell, with U.S. stocks set to head lower. The Fed's latest Beige Book report showed the economy is struggling to emerge from the recession, and may be doing so too slowly for investors' taste.

Disappointing earnings from the likes of eBay Inc. (EBAY) furthered investor pessimism. Shares of the Internet auction house fell 5 percent in aftermarket trading after the company reported third-quarter profits slumped 29 percent.

The global pharmaceutical market is set to grow 4 percent to 6 percent next year, exceeding $825 billion, market intelligence and research company IMS Health (RX) said on Oct 7. This is higher than previous IMS estimates by one percentage point. Through 2013, the researcher predicts worldwide pharmaceutical sales will grow at a 4 percent to 7 percent compound annual growth rate and reach a market value of more than $975 billion in that year.

Is this prediction too optimistic? After all, industry observers are buzzing about the "patent cliff" in 2012-2013, when so many blockbuster drugs are due to lose patent protection and face increased competition from generic drugs. Worse, Big Pharma's new-drug pipeline has been less than stellar, with very few promising blockbuster drugs on the way to replace the lost big sellers.

AstraZeneca (AZN) has long hoped that its blood-thinner drug Brilinta was going to become a blockbuster. From the looks of things, the company may gets its wish.

Back in May, the pharmaceutical company announced that its experimental heart drug Brilinta was more effective than Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY) blockbuster Plavix in the prevention of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. However, as I mentioned at the time, concerns about side effect remained.