The drugmaker Merck & Co. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration has rejected expanding the use of cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil to include women ages 27 to 45.

A JPMorgan analyst placed "Buy" ratings on shares of Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. Wednesday, but voiced cautions on the pharmaceutical sector and on shares of other major drug makers.

Shares of Emisphere Technologies Inc. rose Monday after the company said it signed a licensing deal worth at least $87 million with Novo Nordisk to develop diabetes treatments.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies closed mixed Wednesday as the broader market fell on another new record for oil.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were mostly higher early Thursday as the broader market wobbled following a Labor Department report showing the nation's unemployment rate held steady.

Appeals courts in New Jersey and Texas scrapped verdicts against the drugmaker Merck & Co. stemming from some of the earliest trials involving its once popular painkiller Vioxx.

An experimental osteoporosis drug that is considered to be crucial to the future of biotechnology giant Amgen strengthened bones more than today's most widely-used treatment, research showed.

Stocks finished near session lows as oil prices soared and a measure of wholesale inflation surged, sparking worries that the Federal Reserve will start focusing on rising prices rather than slowing growth.

Stocks tumbled Tuesday as oil prices blew past $129 a barrel and a measure of wholesale inflation surged, sparking worries that the Federal Reserve will start focusing on rising prices rather than slowing growth.

Merck & Co. said Thursday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that adults 60 and over be given the company's shingles vaccine Zostavax.

Financial pain and physical pain may be linked: A new study says people who make less money and work in blue-collar jobs are more prone to be in pain.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning drugmaker Merck & Co. to fix problems at its main vaccine plant.

Merck says it has received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration over concerns at one of its major vaccine manufacturing plants.