merck

What a Wild Year It Was
for Health Care

Led by the health insurance reform law, a flurry of drug and food recalls, key medical breakthroughs and plenty of layoffs and lawsuits, 2010 proved to be an exciting -- if not always positive -- year. Here's our rundown of the biggest health care stories.

Merck KGaA Is Latest Pharma to Settle Justice Department Claims

German pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck KGaA will pay $280 million to settle a U.S. Department of Justice claim brought against a former subsidiary, Dey Pharma, regarding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. This is the fourth such settlement this month alone.

Stocks Close Higher for the Week, Once Again

Stocks closed modestly mixed on light volume Friday in the last full trading week of the year, which marked the third week in a row of overall gains. While drugmakers Pfizer and Merck put a damper on the Dow, robust earnings from Oracle and Research In Motion helped lift tech stocks.

How to Invest in the Coming Tax-Cut Stock Rally

If the extension of the Bush tax cuts triggers a market rally, as many expect, investors will likely rush in. But caution is advised: High prices can also mean high risk. Here are some tips from Alan Lancz, director of research at LanczGlobal.com, on how investors can avoid getting burned.

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Mylanta Over Labeling

If you get the feeling Johnson & Johnson is recalling products every day, you wouldn't be that far from the truth. Now it's dragging Merck with it as the two announced a recall of 12 over-the-counter Mylanta heartburn medicine liquid products as well as Alternagel liquid antacid to update product labeling.

Richard Branson Latest Mogul to Launch an iPad Magazine

Richard Branson is pushing beyond the revenue curve with a new iPad magazine he plans to show to the public next week. The British mogul bills it as a as a paperless "revolutionary multimedia" publication. First word of the project -- dubbed, simply, Project -- leaked out in July, but the effort has been kept under tight wraps.

Pharma News Briefs: Human Genome, Merck, Novartis

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.

How to Approve 'Biosimilar' Drugs? The FDA Has to Figure That Out

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.

Growing Interest
in Achillion's Hepatitis Drugs

At a liver disease conference in Boston, one highlight is expected to be reports from Achillion about its new hepatitis C treatments, especially ACH-1625. The buzz is growing that the little biotech is attracting the attention of some players in Big Pharma.

Merck Earnings Hurt by Schering Acquisition Charge

The pharmaceutical giant said its profit was impacted by a large charge related to its recent merger with Schering-Plough, but still managed to top analyst estimates. Looking forward, Merck lifted the lower end of its 2010 earnings guidance.

A New Antidepressant Maker Has Lots of Folks Excited

Tiny biotech Clinical Data has developed a potential blockbuster called Vilazodone. If OK'd, it would be the first new depression treatment in 15 years. Its potential is so huge that several Big Pharmas may be looking to buy the startup.

Pharmas Probed Over Foreign Bribery Allegations

Federal investigators are looking into allegations that major drug companies, including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline, paid bribes overseas to boost sales and accelerate approvals.