PFIZER

Swiss food group Nestle is to buy drugmaker Pfizer's baby food business for $11.85 billion, beating out French rival Danone in the battle for dominance of fast-growing emerging markets.

Nestle SA, the world's largest food group, said Monday that it has agreed to acquire children's food maker Pfizer Nutrition for $11.85 billion.

French food group Danone has raised its offer for Pfizer's infant nutrition business to close to $11 billion in an attempt to outbid rival Nestle , according to news website WanSquare.

Stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched its biggest gain in a month as investors digested another round of corporate earnings.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday after the S&P 500 tallied its biggest gain in a month and ahead of another round of corporate earnings.

Nestlé SA is expected to pay at least $9 billion to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc. for the U.S. drugmaker's infant-nutrition business, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the world's second-biggest health care company, reported better-than-expected first quarter profit on cost cutting and strong demand for new drugs, which offsets drags from generic competition and recalls.

For sciatica patients, the genetically engineered pain medicine etanercept is no better at treating leg and lower back pain than traditional steroid injections, according to a new study.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the world's second-biggest health care company, is expected to report higher first-quarter profit as strong performance of new drugs offsets drags from generic competition and strings of recalls.

A federal appellate court ruled on Tuesday that drugmaker Pfizer can face asbestos liability suits in state court over products once manufactured by a bankrupt subsidiary, dragging out a dispute that has already lasted more than 30 years.

A federal appellate court ruled on Tuesday that drugmaker Pfizer can face asbestos liability suits in state court over products once manufactured by a bankrupt subsidiary, dragging out a dispute that has already lasted more than 30 years.

U.S. regulators gave the nod to an imaging test from Eli Lilly and Co. that can for the first time help doctors detect brain plaque tied to Alzheimer's disease, the company said.

Johnson & Johnson's blood clot preventer Xarelto proved as effective as and safer than standard treatments against blood clots of the lung in a big study, possibly paving the way for it to become the eventual preferred treatment for the third most common cause of deaths in hospitals.

Apple's push for a tax holiday on overseas profits is unlikely to influence the Obama administration's position on the issue, a White House source told Talking Points Memo.

Many patients taking a widely prescribed class of oral cancer drugs are also using a variety of medications that could reduce the effectiveness of the cancer treatment or increase its toxic side effects, according to research by Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, is scheduled to appear in court in May over Celebrex, a drug Bingham Young University and researcher Dr. Daniel Simmons claim royalties that could amount to millions to a billion dollars.

Europe is undermining drug innovation by cutting prices, raising barriers to new medicines and freeloading off others in Asia and the United States who are more willing to pay, the boss of Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said.

Pfizer Inc is more likely to spin off its animal health unit than sell it outright, reflecting the expected investor appeal of such a large standalone business, its chief executive said on Monday.

On Monday, March 12, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will argue that they should continue to study the drug, while taking the necessary safety precautions to protect their patients. Two years ago a series experiments to develop a new prescription drug that would successfully alleviate the pain caused by arthritis conducted by some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies were put on hold by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Food and Drug Administration rejected an experimental combination cholesterol drug produced by Merck & Co Monday. The experimental drug, known as MK-0653C, hopes to fight heart disease in two different ways, by combining Lipitor and Zetia.

Occupy Wall Street drew a top U.S. security agency's scrutiny, Rolling Stone reported, as protesters across the country tried to revive the movement in a day of action against corporate greed.