pharmaceuticals

To get potentially lifesaving drugs to patients faster, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowed to approve some drugs -- those that address unmet medical needs -- based on fewer trials than usual. But it turns out that many of the pharmaceutical companies fail to conduct follow-up trials to prove the drugs work.

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.

Whistleblowing firm Ven-A-Care has recovered $2 billion for taxpayers by suing drug companies that overcharge the government and create windfalls for participating pharmacies. It also has made $380 million for itself. What's the problem with that?

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:

Sanofi-Aventis announced its cancer drug candidate iniparib failed in a late-stage clinical trial. Other pharmaceutical companies have also experienced recent setbacks as they scramble to bolster their pipelines ahead of the patent cliff, when they will be forced to compete with cheaper generics.

Diabetes is a growing global scourge, but for Big Pharma it's more of a lifesaver -- and many drugmakers are cranking up their research efforts. After all, many existing drugs will soon be losing their patents, and diabetes could be a $55 billion market by 2019.

The government recouped a staggering $4 billion in fiscal 2010 that was stolen from federal health care programs, the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced Monday -- the highest annual amount ever. More than half of the fraud money recovered came from drug companies.

Did GlaxoSmithKline's blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia cause fatal heart attacks? The first federal trial of an Avandia lawsuit began this morning in Philidelphia. As many as 50,000 more lurk in the wings.

Lpath focuses on developing therapeutics that target bioactive lipids for treating a range of human diseases, including cancer and diseases that cause blindness. Its promising drugs have attracted attention -- and lots of money -- from Pfizer. More of both could be coming.

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.