Human Genome Sciences Inc said its experimental lupus drug Benlysta was successful in a late-stage clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the first new treatment for the disease in 50 years.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher revenue from its specialty pharmaceutical segment, and raised its 2009 earnings view.

Hospital products and generic drugmaker Hospira Inc on Tuesday said quarterly net earnings rose 42 percent, fueled by a new product launch, and it raised its full-year profit forecast.

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc's $41.1 billion takeover of smaller rival Schering-Plough Corp won approval from European Union antitrust regulators on Friday.

Shares of AGA Medical Holdings Inc, a maker of devices for heart defects and blood vessel diseases, edged up 1 percent in their debut on Nasdaq Wednesday after the company's IPO priced below range.

Eli Lilly and Co posted third-quarter profit well above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday on strong performance of its major prescription drugs and lower taxes, sending shares up 1.9 percent.

Pfizer Inc reported higher third-quarter profit as aggressive cost-cutting offset a negative foreign exchange impact and declining sales of drugs, including those facing competition from cheaper generics.

Biogen Idec Inc reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that topped expectations, but data related to its controversial multiple sclerosis drug was mixed and its shares fell 1.5 percent.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

Hype about the swine flu vaccines, pent-up demand for cash and a push by major drugmakers to boost their flagging research pipelines has helped lift biotechnology fund-raising 36 percent so far this year.

Western drugmakers are stepping up the hunt for emerging market "tigers" in India.

Merck KGaA is sticking to its initial target to make more than 1 billion euros ($1.45 billion) in sales from its Erbitux cancer drug as early as 2011, its chief executive told a German weekly.

German industrial heir Ludwig Merckle is more confident he may not need to sell drugs distributor Phoenix after cashing in shares in HeidelbergCement, two people familiar with his plans told Reuters.

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp priced shares in its initial public offering for $19 each, within the expected range, but increased the size of the share issue in the largest IPO by a biopharmaceuticals firm in three years.

Sanofi-Aventis has bought French biotechnology company Fovea, specialized in eye diseases, and expanded its cancer portfolio through an exclusive worldwide drug licensing deal with Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB raised 450 million euros ($659.9 million) from a six-year convertible bond offer on Wednesday to refinance debt, a figure that could rise to 500 million euros.

Canadian medical equipment maker Noveko International Inc's fourth-quarter loss widened, hurt by a goodwill impairment charge.

Nycomed, the private equity-owned Swiss drugmaker, is looking at sweetening its bid for Solvay's drugs unit with the Belgian chemical and drug maker's board set to meet to decide on the unit's future.

U.S. pharmaceuticals company Abbott Laboratories Inc made an unsolicited offer for the drugs unit of Belgian chemicals firm Solvay, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday, rivaling a bid from private equity-owned drugs maker Nycomed.