Sector: Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology and Life Sciences

Human Genome Sciences said on Thursday it had adopted a stockholder rights plan as the biotechnology company defends itself against a $2.6 billion hostile takeover bid by drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.

Two new studies show Americans drastically underestimate how much they will spend out-of-pocket on health-care costs during retirement, estimated to total $240,000. 

Many jobs that let reserved types work in solitude offer poor salaries and unchallenging work. But there are other careers that are stimulating, well-paying and require little human contact. Read ahead to see some of the best jobs in the U.S. for loners.

The pharmaceuticals company agreed on Monday to pay $1.6 billion to resolve civil and criminal allegations related to past sales practices involving its anti-seizure drug Depakote.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals' share soared on Monday, after a study  found its new cystic fibrosis drug  leads to improvement in lung function.

The largest U.S. drugmaker said its net income fell in the latest period as sales declined after the company lost its exclusivity on the cholesterol drug Lipitor at the end of November.

Hologic, which makes cervical cancer tests and mammography systems, plans to market Gen-Probe's products in a deal large enough to attract Wall Street's top advisers.

Shares of the healthcare IT provider plunged as much as 43 percent on Friday, after the company forecast weak full-year earnings, hurt by software development costs and weaker bookings.

Merck said Friday that its first-quarter profit jumped 67 percent despite lower-than-expected sales, due to lower spending on production, marketing and research as well as an arbitration charge a year ago.

Quarterly earnings at Germany's largest drugmaker Bayer surpassed expectations as strong strong sales of farming pesticides offset margin pressure at its engineering plastics unit.

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday lost its latest attempt to thwart deals to delay the production of cheaper, generic drugs that brand-name drug companies make with competitors.

Watson Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday it agreed to buy Actavis Group for at least 4.25 billion euros ($5.60 billion), making it the world's biggest suppliers of generic drugs.

Eli Lilly's quarterly profit fell on plunging sales of its Zyprexa schizophrenia drug, but results handily topped Wall Street forecasts, helped by strong sales of anti-depressant Cymbalta and demand for the company's animal health products.

As the Supreme Court ponders the fate of healthcare reform in the current election year, a study released on Thursday shows that one in four working-age Americans went without insurance at some point in 2011.

Gilead Sciences shares soared more than 15 percent after an experimental hepatitis C drug acquired by the company when it paid nearly $11 billion to buy Pharmasset produced encouraging results in a closely watched clinical trial, results of which were released in Barcelona.