Vertex

One of Thursday's hardest-hit stocks was Dendreon, maker of the prostate cancer vaccine Provenge, which plunged 67% after reporting disappointing results. But, weirdly, Debdreon's disease seemed to infect the entire sector, dragging down companies with proven drugs. Are biotechs bargains right now?

Pharmaceuticals are facing big patent cliff problems this year, but several biotechnology stocks have been doing quite well: Their biologic drugs command high prices, tend become blockbusters, and they are in far less danger from generic competition. Here are the big winners so far this year.

If you feel like the cost of everything is more expensive at the register these days, it's not your imagination. Even when the cost of goods and services has remained relatively flat, the associated sales and use taxes have continued to climb. Data released recently from Vertex, a privately-held...

Vertex Pharmaceutical shares soared 15% Wednesday as Wall Street cheered the results of a late-stage study of its new cystic fibrosis drug, an experimental treatment that targets the underlying cause of the disease rather than just its symptoms.

Global pharmaceutical sales are expected to grow by 5% to 7% in 2011, thanks to robust growth in emerging markets, especially China, as well as new innovative treatments, and despite patent expirations and budget pressures in the developed world.

If you flip on the news or thumb through a newspaper these days, it's no secret that the federal government is facing a mounting deficit. Spending has outstripped revenues for years now, and the current recession has cut deeply into the biggest source of income: taxpayers. What hasn't been touted...

News that Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) inked a billion-dollar development deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical for new obesity therapies was among the favorable developments in the sector on Monday that pushed several key stocks higher. Amylin shares were up nearly 10 percent in late trading after...