biotechnology

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.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first new drug to treat lupus in 56 years. It's not terribly effective: It only worked for 35% of the patients tested. But experts say the approval could prompt the development of more effective drugs.

Samsung Electronics is known for its smartphones, TVs and memory chips. Now it wants to tackle biopharmaceuticals, on Friday announcing a new joint venture to produce drugs to treat cancer and arthritis. Here's why the move could prove an ill-needed distraction for the electronics giant.

If you've been to a supermarket lately, you've probably noticed that food prices are soaring. And that spells an opportunity for investors. Asset-management expert John Stephenson offers tips for small investors aiming to tap into the agricultural market.

The U.S. biotech is holding an analyst and investor meeting focused on the commercial potential of its multiple sclerosis drug Campath. The goal: to convince Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis to raise its hostile takeover offer in a battle that has now gone on for five months.

As part of its efforts to expand into the biotech market, Johnson & Johnson is making a long-anticipated bid for Dutch vaccine maker Crucell -- in spite of Crucell's recent manufacturing troubles.

Much like Dendreon, which has a promising prostate cancer drug, ImmunoCellular is developing a cancer drug. In this case, it battles brain cancer, and a Phase I trial turned in remarkable results. But unlike Dendreon, ImmunoCellular is still pretty much an unknown.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to pay $750 million to settle charges that the drug making giant sold contaminated anti-nausea medication and baby ointment made at a now-closed Cidra plant in Puerto Rico.

Genzyme, which makes drugs to treat leukemia and multiple sclerosis, has rejected a hostile takeover bid from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis. The offer "dramatically undervalues" Genzyme, the company said Friday, putting its value about 30% higher.

At a recent life-sciences conference in Stockholm, execs of several U.S. and foreign biotechs clashed with Big Pharma in a lively debate on the merits of their respective goals and products. The result, however, was a stand-off.