Shares of some top pharmaceuticals companies were mixed at the close of trading:

Shares of some top pharmaceuticals companies are mixed at noon:

The cardio drug prasugrel outperformed its competition, the blockbuster Plavix, in preventing recurring events like heart attacks for some patients, drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. said Thursday.

Shares of some top pharmaceuticals companies are down at 10 a.m.:

Shares of drug developer Amylin Pharmaceuticals continued falling Thursday as safety concerns over its key diabetes drug continued to reverberate throughout the market.

Monsanto Co. is unloading a harvest of controversy with its $300 million sale of the Posilac cow hormone to drug maker Eli Lilly & Co.

Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it agreed to sell its Posilac brand of cow hormones to drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. for at least $300 million.

U.S. health regulators are seeking stronger warnings about the risk of pancreatitis after the deaths of two patients taking Amylin Pharmaceuticals' injectable diabetes drug Byetta, sending the company's shares down as much 16 percent.

SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday that two proxy firms have advised its shareholders to vote in favor of Eli Lilly's $64 million buyout offer at a meeting later this month.

Shares of biotechnology company Alkermes Inc. jumped Friday after the company boosted its fiscal 2009 outlook based on higher-than-expected revenue from the schizophrenia drug Risperdal Consta and lower costs.

Stocks ended sharply lower Thursday as the market got a triple whammy: Oil resumed its ascent, major earnings reports sparked a fresh wave of concern about corporate profits and home sales hit a 10-year low. All three major indexes lost at least  2 percent.

Stocks declined as oil resumed its ascent and investors braced for the next batch of corporate earnings.  A drop in home sales and a jump in jobless claims above the key 400,000 mark added some pressure.

On Squawk Box this morning, CEOs from various industries aired their insights on the economy, energy prices, real estate and politics.

Stocks declined as oil resumed its ascent and investors braced for the next batch of corporate earnings.  A drop in home sales and a jump in jobless claims above the key 400,000 mark added some pressure.

Eli Lilly said on Thursday that second-quarter earnings rose on higher sales of its prescription drugs and sharply lower taxes, but the company cut its 2008 profit forecast due to special charges.