It seems that months of merger talks between French pharma Sanofi-Aventis and U.S. biotech Genzyme have entered the home stretch. This week, Sanofi is expected to offer $74 a share for Genzyme, with an option included potentially worth $5 to $6 a share.
Pfizer reported fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday that nearly quadrupled from a year ago as revenue rose 6%. But it also lowered its sales guidance for 2012, due to some of its bestselling drugs going off patent. What's ahead for the world's biggest drugmaker:
After several years of robust expansion, the leading branded pharma companies will see growth slow to just 1.3% from now to 2015, independent market analyst company Datamonitor said in a new report. The primary culprit: expiring patents and an onslaught of generic competition.
Here's a roundup of some of Wednesday's major pharmaceutical news: An FDA panel gave Human Genome Sciences a boost with a thumbs-up for its lupus drug, Benlysta; Merck's experimental heart drug appears to work well without side effects; and Novartis announced its plans for long-term growth.
Eli Lilly's blockbuster antidepressant Cymbalta can now also be marketed as a treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as osteoarthritis and lower back pain, following FDA approval yesterday.
Unlike generics, which are the exact chemical copies of a brand-name drug, biosimilars have large and often complex proteins that are made in living cells, and tiny differences can play havoc with the product. It may take years for the FDA to create an approval process.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis announced a 10-year agreement with Covance on Thursday under which the Princeton, N.J.-based contract research firm will provide it with drug development services. Sanofi-Aventis will pay Covance between $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.
In a case that tested the bounds of the First Amendment, Hal Turner, a right-wing radio shock jock, was convicted of threatening three judges' lives in his blog post. Plus, Eli Lilly loses a patent case for ADHD drug Strattera.
AstraZeneca shares surged by almost 9% Tuesday after the company scored a win in court regarding the patent for its cholesterol treatment, Crestor. The ruling means that AstraZeneca won't have to worry about generic competition for its multibillion-dollar statin until 2016.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its generic version of Pfizer's antidepressant Effexor XR, or Venlafaxine.
An FDA "bioequivalent" certification doesn't exempt generic drugmakers from responsibility for their medication's safety, a judge has ruled. Teva Pharmaceuticals had been sued for the problems its version of antidepressant Wellbutrin has caused users.
