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• Contraception & Religious Freedom 

  

  Discussing the shift in contraception policy, with Mark Simone, WOR Radio Talk Show host and CNBC's Contributors Keith Boykin and James Pethokoukis.

• Obama Offers Compromise on Birth Control Coverage

  

  The Obama administration is offering a compromise on new Obamacare rules that would allow religious employers to exclude contraceptives from health insurance for employees, but would still guarantee those employees access to free coverage for birth control.

• Doctors, Insurers Trade Blame on Out-of-Network Fees

  

  A new report shows non-network providers are charging insured patients outrageous out-of-network fees. Doctors fault insurers for reimbursing doctors at far lower rates than before.

• UPDATE 4-Merck shares fall on worries about osteoporosis drug

  *Quarterly sales $11.74 bln, vs view $11.48 bln. Feb 1- Merck& Co Inc's quarterly results beat estimates, but the drugmaker issued a cautious 2013 profit forecast and said it will delay seeking approval for a high-profile osteoporosis drug, sending its shares down 3 percent.

• Roche's CEO on Profit Pipeline 

  

  Severin Schwan, Roche CEO, discusses the company's future growth plans developing innovative medicines to fight the battle against cancer and Alzheimer disease.

• Money In the 'Death Care' Industry 

  

  CNBC's Tyler Mathisen offers details of CNBC's special that is airing tonight called "Death: It's A Living."

• Obamacare Buyer's Remorse? 

  

  Some unions are growing weary of the health law they supported, with Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute president and Philip Dine, author of "State of the Unions."

• Boehringer Ingelheim Ohio subsidiary enters consent decree

  Jan 31- Ben Venue Laboratories Inc., a unit of German drug company Boehringer Ingelheim, may not freely make or distribute drugs from its facility in Bedford, Ohio, until U.S. regulators have determined it is in compliance with good manufacturing standards. Ben Venue has repeatedly violated good manufacturing practices, the FDA said in a statement.

• Obamacare Just Got Less Affordable for Millions

  

  The Obama administration has adopted a strict definition of affordable health insurance that will deny assistance to millions of Americans with modest incomes who cannot afford family coverage offered by employers, The NYT reports.

• Business Buzz: Paul Jacobs 

  

  CNBC's Maria Bartiromo gets the Davos buzz on technology and healthcare from Paul Jacobs, CEO at Qualcomm.

• UPDATE 1-Second Twitter hoax in two days smacks another stock

  NEW YORK, Jan 30- Sarepta Therapeutics Inc became the second company in as many days see its shares plunge as a result of a Twitter hoax on Wednesday after a user posed as an influential short-seller and alleged improprieties at the biopharmaceutical company.

• Isis Pharma shares rise on Kynamro approval

  NEW YORK-- Shares of Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared Wednesday on news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its new drug application for its Kynamro cholesterol drug. Carlsbad, Calif.- based Isis has a deal with Genzyme, a unit of French drugmaker Sanofi SA, to market the drug if it is approved.

• UPDATE 2-Roche flags further growth as new drugs deliver

  *To pay 7.35 Sfr per share dividend for 2012. BASEL, Jan 30- Swiss drugmaker Roche forecast a rise in sales and profits this year, helped by new cancer medicines it hopes will shield it from the patent expiries ravaging many rivals.

• FDA gives new drug application approval to Isis

  CARLSBAD, Calif.-- Drug developer Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and partner Genzyme announced Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved their new drug application for Kynamro, clearing the way for Isis' first drug to reach market.

• Beijing Shuts Factories as Smog Levels Surge

  

  Beijing temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took 30 percent of government vehicles off roads to combat dangerously high air pollution, state media reported on Tuesday, but the capital's air remained hazardous despite the measures.

• Vertex swings to loss on weak hep C drug sales

  CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Specialty drugmaker Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as doctors turned away from the company's best-selling drug for treating hepatitis C. Most of the decline was due to lower sales of the company's hepatitis C pill, Incivek, which contributed $223 million, down from $457 million.

• UPDATE 1-FDA approves Sanofi drug for rare cholesterol disorder

  *Drug from Sanofi and Isis Pharmaceuticals to be sold as Kynamro. *FDA requiring four post-marketing studies. Jan 29- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a drug made by Sanofi SA and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc designed to treat a rare genetic disorder that causes dangerously high levels of bad LDL cholesterol.

• FDA approves Sanofi drug for hereditary cholesterol disorder

  *Drug from Sanofi and Isis Pharmaceuticals to be sold as Kynamro. *FDA requiring four post-marketing studies. Jan 29- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a drug made by Sanofi SA and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc designed to treat a rare genetic disorder that causes dangerously high levels of bad LDL cholesterol.

• Keryx announces $55M public offering

  NEW YORK-- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it will offer $55 million worth of its common stock in a public offering. The company plans to submit an application for approval of the drug to both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators in this year's second quarter.

• WRAPUP 2-Pfizer, Lilly profits beat Street; generics take toll

  Jan 29- Pfizer Inc and Eli Lilly and Co reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits as deals, cost cutting and strong sales of new products helped the pharmaceutical companies weather generic competition for once top-selling products.