Abbott Laboratories won U.S. approval to sell its drug-coated heart stent called Xience, the company said on Wednesday.

Walgreen, one of the largest U.S. drugstore operators, said that June sales at stores open at least one year rose 3.4 percent, led by general merchandise purchases.

U.S. regulators did not approve Merck & Co's application to expand marketing of its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil to an older group of women within an expected review period, the drugmaker said.

Walgreen posted a 2 percent increase in quarterly profit as sales were muted by a weak U.S. economy and slowing growth in prescription drug sales.

Pfizer may bid for Ranbaxy Laboratories, countering a $4.6 billion offer by Japan's Daiichi
Sankyo Co for the Indian generic drug maker, the Business Standard newspaper said.

Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo will pay up to $4.6 billion for control of India's Ranbaxy Laboratories, the latest in a string of global health deals as firms look to bulk up and diversify to fend off aggressive rivals.

Switzerland’s leading stock index, the SMI, has fallen more than 21 percent over the last twelve months, but investment opportunities are emerging with certain large-cap well-positioned stocks such as Roche and Swatch, Maximilian Muench, head of Swiss equities research at UBS told CNBC.

Stocks closed lower Monday, snapping last week's rally, amid a fresh wave of financial worries and inflation concerns. General Motors rose.

Stocks declined amid concerns about inflation following a manufacturing report and a fresh wave of concerns in the financial sector.

Stocks declined amid concerns about inflation following a manufacturing report and a fresh wave of concerns in the financial sector.

A bout of risk aversion dented European stocks on Tuesday as jitters grew over potential credit-related problems at banks and inflation, while typically defensive stocks such as pharmaceuticals and food rallied.

Sanofi-Aventis' experimental drug aflibercept failed to meet its goal in a mid-stage ovarian cancer study but the French drug maker said on Wednesday it had shown some promising signs of effectiveness.

A study claims "the time has come" for researchers to study ED drugs as preventive medicine for the heart.

Genentech said on Thursday a trial of Avastin in colon cancer patients who have undergone surgery will be completed earlier than expected due to faster collection of data and a higher-than-planned number of patients with stage III cancer.

Too few influential doctors are telling the public if they have financial ties to the companies that make lifesaving drug-coated stents.