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• EXCLUSIVE-Japan's Astellas looks to sell dermatology assets -sources Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 1:30 PM ET

  NEW YORK, June 18- Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc is looking to sell its dermatology portfolio, which could be worth between $500 million and $1 billion, according to three people familiar with the situation.

• UPDATE 1-FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 10:53 AM ET

  June 18- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it was investigating the deaths of two patients who died following injections with Eli Lilly and Co's long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, called Zyprexa Relprevv.

• Komen breast cancer charity names new CEO Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:53 AM ET

  DALLAS-- Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced Monday that a physician with a long career in health policy and research will become the breast cancer charity's new president and CEO. Judith A. Salerno will replace Nancy Brinker as CEO of the Dallas- based organization.

• UPDATE 2-J&J in $1 bln deal to bolster prostate-cancer focus Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 5:39 PM ET

  June 17- Johnson& Johnson said it would pay up to $1 billion for Aragon Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drugs for prostate cancer, to bolster J&J's role in the field after it acquired another experimental prostate-cancer treatment four years ago that has become a leading brand.

• Valeant Pharma plans $1.75B stock offering Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 4:53 PM ET

  NEW YORK-- Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Monday it will sell $1.75 billion in stock to help fund its acquisition of Bausch+ Lomb. It will pay $4.5 billion for the company and will spend another $4.2 billion to repay Bausch+ Lomb's debt.

• UPDATE 1-J&J, in new $1 bln deal, bolsters prostate-cancer role Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 11:32 AM ET

  June 17- Johnson& Johnson said it would pay up to $1 billion for Aragon Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drugs for prostate cancer, bolstering J&J's role in the field after it acquired another experimental prostate-cancer treatment four years ago that has become a leading brand.

• Lilly to take over development of diabetes drug Monday, 17 Jun 2013 | 9:17 AM ET

  Eli Lilly and Co. will pay Canadian drug developer Transition Therapeutics Inc. $7 million and take over the development of a potential diabetes treatment heading into mid-stage clinical testing. Transition shares added 7 cents, or 2 percent, to $3.58, and are near the upper end of their 52- week trading range of $1.78 to $3.84.

• Calpers chief investment officer has prostate cancer Friday, 14 Jun 2013 | 6:10 PM ET

  LOS ANGELES, June 14- The chief investment of Calpers, California's state pension fund, is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, the fund said on Friday. Joseph Dear, 62, has ceded some of his responsibilities as CIO of the California Public Employees' Retirement System to Theodore Eliopoulos, the fund's senior investment officer for real estate.

• New lungs buy time but don't cure cystic fibrosis Friday, 14 Jun 2013 | 8:31 AM ET

  Anastassios Koumbourlis, pulmonary chief at Children's National Medical Center in the nation's capital. Sarah Murnaghan, who is recovering from Wednesday's operation at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, made headlines as her parents challenged national policy over how children under 12 are placed on the waiting list for donated lungs.

• UPDATE 1-Lilly halts Alzheimer's drug trial due to liver problems Thursday, 13 Jun 2013 | 6:27 PM ET

  June 13- Eli Lilly and Co. said on Thursday it halted a mid-stage study of an experimental Alzheimer's disease treatment due to potential liver toxicity, the latest setback in the quest to find a treatment that can slow or cure the memory-robbing condition.

• FACTBOX-U.S. Supreme Court says human genes cannot be patented Thursday, 13 Jun 2013 | 3:22 PM ET

  June 13- The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Thursday that human genes cannot be patented, but said patents on synthetically produced genetic material are valid. The Supreme Court case involved Myriad Genetics Inc and its patents on two genes known to raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

• Verastem cancer treatment gets European incentives Thursday, 13 Jun 2013 | 12:04 PM ET

  NEW YORK-- Cancer drug developer Verastem Inc. said Thursday that its most advanced experimental treatment was awarded orphan drug status in the European Union. Verastem is studying the drug as a treatment for mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

• Govt cautions medical schools on enrollment Thursday, 13 Jun 2013 | 8:12 AM ET

  WASHINGTON-- The federal government has cautioned the nation's medical schools and other health-related schools that their enrollment decisions may be based on an incorrect understanding of the hepatitis B virus, resulting in discrimination.

• HIV drug can also protect injection drug users Thursday, 13 Jun 2013 | 7:13 AM ET

  The latest advice was triggered by the results of a study done in Thailand that showed the AIDS drug tenofovir protected many drug users. Jonathan Mermin, director of AIDS prevention for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research by the CDC and the Thailand government was published online Wednesday by the journal Lancet.

• Obamacare's Med School Dilemma  Wednesday, 12 Jun 2013 | 7:52 PM ET

  

  Discussing the big problems Obamacare creates for hospitals, doctors, and even medical students, with Dr. Beth Haynes M.D. of Benjamin Rush Society, Brian Blank, UNC-Chapel Hill Medical Student.

• Amgen says ovarian cancer drug met study goal Wednesday, 12 Jun 2013 | 12:46 PM ET

  THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.-- Biotech drugmaker Amgen Inc. reported Wednesday that its experimental drug for ovarian cancer helped patients live 1.8 months longer without their disease spreading, compared with patients getting placebo. Amgen is studying its drug trebananib in combination with paclitaxel to treat recurring ovarian cancer.

• Celgene reports results for arthritis drug Wednesday, 12 Jun 2013 | 11:40 AM ET

  WASHINGTON-- Celgene Corp. said Wednesday a one-year study of its experimental drug for psoriatic arthritis showed "meaningful improvements" in patients' symptoms. Celgene's Palace 1 trial compared outcomes in 1,500 patients taking apremilast or placebo. Shares of Celgene rose $1.03 to $119.78 in Wednesday trading.

• Questcor will pay at least $135M for Novartis drug Tuesday, 11 Jun 2013 | 10:46 AM ET

  NEW YORK-- Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it will pay at least $135 million to buy an autoimmune and inflammatory disease drug made by Novartis AG, sending its shares surging in morning trading. Shares of Questcor jumped $8.30, or 22.6 percent, to $45.01 in morning trading.

• Aveo says FDA refuses to approve cancer drug Monday, 10 Jun 2013 | 4:46 PM ET

  Aveo, whose formal name is Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc., is seeking approval for tivozanib as a treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. The company said the FDA recommended it run a new clinical trial of tivozanib because it was not able to draw meaningful conclusions from a late-stage trial.

• Ariad dips as analyst lowers lung cancer drug view Monday, 10 Jun 2013 | 3:11 PM ET

  NEW YORK-- Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. slipped Monday after a Barclays analyst lowered his price target on the shares based on clinical trial data from one of the company's experimental drugs. THE SPARK: Analyst Ying Huang still rates the shares "Overweight," but he lowered his price target to $25 per share from $29.