Occasionally -- when the bosses will let me -- I take a day to network, learn and maybe pick up a story idea by attending a biotech or healthcare investment conference. Many firms put on the events for their clients and they often invite reporters to hang out. ... The PR guy told me a couple of sessions during the day would be "closed" to me. It wasn't clear what the closed sessions were all about, and so my curiousity was piqued...   Read More

Amgen is in major belt-tightening mode. Still it held its annual shareholder shindig at the swanky Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, CA. The 400-500 investors who showed up were treated to valet parking, soft drinks, and a nice spread of cheeses, vegetable crudite, fruit and sweets    Read More

One small detail took the stock down Wednesday. Cramer called the CEO to put it in perspective.   Read More

There's no money left under the pillow, but Amgen execs and directors have been handed a gift. One of the most outspoken, large, individual investors in the biotech company who's been calling for the Board and CEO to go won't be attending its annual shareholder meeting after all.   Read More

After the closing bell yesterday, Merck announced that it plans to get rid of 12-hundred or around 15 percent of its sales reps. Like Schering-Plough, the company is having to adjust to lower sales of its Vytorin and Zetia cholesterol drugs and on top of that the Food and Drug...   Read More

While thumbing through “Parade” magazine yesterday, the fluffy publication that you find tucked inside some Sunday newspapers, I noticed an ad for Pfizer’s stop-smoking drug Chantix. It caught my eye because the company had stopped doing what’s called “branded” advertising for the pill earlier this year because of new safety concerns...    Read More

It's the kind of artwork I'm sure they weren't happy to see at Pfizer spacer headquarters this morning. The torn company logo on the front page of the Newark Star-Ledger business section above the headline, "Signs of Wear and Tear."    Read More

Here's the opening line of a press release sent my way: "Have you ever wondered what the world is like for a person with schizophrenia?" Um, no. I haven't. I mean, I have enough on my mind already.    Read More

I didn't post yesterday because I was in Philadelphia shooting a story for an upcoming episode of "The Business of Innovation" on CNBC. It's a piece about big pharma and we went to Philly to interview the still very busy former CEO of Merck (two CEOs ago), Dr. Roy Vagelos.    Read More

Investors are finding no solace in Merck's reaffirmation that it'll still hit its earnings numbers this year. Instead they're punishing the stock after the company announced what everyone is calling a surprise and a significant setback.    Read More