NEW YORK-- Shares of Rigel Therapeutics Inc. lost more than a third of their value Friday on mixed results from a late-stage clinical trial of a rheumatoid arthritis drug the company helped develop.
WICHITA, Kan.-- A new clinic offering abortions and other women's medical services saw its first patient Thursday in the Wichita building where a slain Kansas abortion provider had practiced. "We have been working a long time, really hard to get this open to provide services to women in Wichita," said Kerry Townsend Jacob, the group's spokeswoman.
LONDON, April 4- After a lengthy fight, Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said it had agreed to hand over data from all clinical trials of its best-selling flu drug Tamiflu to a group of outside researchers. Sales of the drug hit close to $3 billion in 2009 due to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, although they have since declined.
NEW YORK-- Shares of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. rose Thursday after the company reported favorable new clinical trial results for its imaging agent Lymphoseek. The Food and Drug Administration approved Lymphoseek March 13 to help doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer and skin cancer.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Thursday that a newly approved generic version of one of its drugs could significantly reduce its profits this year.
LONG BEACH, Calif.-- Obagi Medical Products Inc. said Wednesday that Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals boosted its offer to buy the dermatology products maker, topping a bid made a day ago by a German rival.
*Elan welcomes Irish Takeover Panel deadline for bid. DUBLIN, April 3- U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma, which is considering a $6.6- billion bid for Irish drugmaker Elan, must make a firm offer by May 10 or walk away, Ireland's Takeover Panel said on Wednesday.
*Elan welcomes Irish Takeover Panel deadline for bid. DUBLIN, April 3- U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma, which is considering a $6.6- billion bid for Irish drugmaker Elan, must make a firm offer by May 10 or walk away, Ireland's Takeover Panel said on Wednesday.
LONDON, April 3- AstraZeneca boosted its early-stage pipeline of experimental heart drugs on Wednesday by buying privately held U.S. biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma, which is developing a new type of cholesterol medicine.
*Optimer could get $15- $16/ shr- analyst. April 2- Shares of Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc rose as much as 24 percent after a Bloomberg report said GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc were among those interested in buying the antibiotic maker. The report also named AstraZeneca PLC and Japan's Astellas Pharma Inc as potential buyers.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Shares of hospital operator Vanguard Health Systems took back some ground Wednesday after the company said it had secured a three-year contract to manage Medicaid patients in Arizona. It had said last month that Arizona wasn't renewing a bigger Medicaid contract.
*Under new CEO, Sarepta focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug. *Analysts expect company to relay FDA feedback in April. April 2- After three decades without bringing a drug to market, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc stands on the verge of a breakthrough with its treatment for a crippling genetic disorder that affects one in every 3,500 newborn boys.
Health insurance stocks like Humana broke out sharply on Monday after the CMS increased the Medicare Advantage rate. The FMHR traders and Steve Grasso discuss how to play these stocks. Also, whether to get cautious on news the Dow has set a new intraday high in 12 of the past 20 trading sessions, with Jason Pride, Glenmede.
April 2- Neurological and dermatology drugs maker Merz Pharma Group offered to buy cosmetic products maker Obagi Medical Products Inc for $383.5 million, topping a bid by Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. Merz's $22- per-share bid represents a premium of 11 percent to Valeant's offer of $19.75.