Sector: Pharmaceuticals

China stocks may trade lower on Thursday, weighed down by uncertainties about the global economy and China's own fiscal policy response.

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.

An experimental obesity pill from Arena Pharmaceuticals won the support of U.S. advisers on Thursday, as public health advocates push for new solutions to the nation's growing obesity epidemic.

The Indian government announced an inquiry on Friday into the operations of the country's main drug regulator, just days after a parliamentary report exposed dysfunction within the agency and alleged serious irregularities in the drug approval process. 

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.

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.

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.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which spurned a $3.5 billion takeover bid from Bristol-Myers Squibb and is fending off a lawsuit from activist investor Carl Icahn, started reaching out to potential buyers last week, sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

AstraZeneca has agreed to buy U.S. company Ardea Biosciences for $1.26 billion, giving it a new gout drug to bolster its weak pipeline in a deal that feeds a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology sector.

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.