Merck, the giant pharmaceutical maker missed its earnings target during the first three months of 2013. At first glance, earnings jumped 85 cents a share, which exceeded estimates from Wall Street analysts by over 6 cents a share. However, that was due to a one-time tax benefit. Sales were a big disappointment as they came in 4% below estimates at $10.7 billion, which was over $500 million below expectations. Merck tried... 

Stocks increased Tuesday, which was headed by the healthcare sector. The rally came after the government announced its decision on payment rates. Investors also felt optimistic after the release of the report on factory orders that confirmed the economy is improving at a steady rate. Healthcare The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at another record high but it fell short of reaching its all-time intraday high... 

The U.S. Justice Department announced it had reached an agreement for $40 million Friday to settle charges against UPS that the giant shipping company had done business with Internet pharmacies that were illegal. U.S. officials agreed as part of the settlement not to file prosecution charges against UPS in exchange for UPS handing over the $40 million the company received from its business dealings with the illicit pharmacies... 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced it had stopped all clinical pediatric trials for Sensipar an Amgen, Inc. drug following the death of a patient who was 14 years old, who had been taking part in the study of Amgen’s drug. Sensipar, which is already approved for use by adults, is used to help lower calcium levels that are dangerously high in blood. The FDA said it was in the process of collecting... 

Merck, the drug maker, announced this week that it would payout over $688 million to settle lawsuits brought by its shareholders, including a number of pension funds that alleged large sums of money were lost due to the handling of results from a clinical trial. The results caused Vytorin’s prescriptions to plummet. Vytorin is the blockbuster medication for Merck. The lawsuits were scheduled to go to trial on March 4.... 

Most patients are unaware that different pharmaceutical companies give doctors thousands of dollars for each patient that they enrol in experimental drug trials. Even though the motive’s of the doctor’s may be pure and the medications are what is best for the patient’s sickness, patients need to be know about such payments to discuss them with the doctor and then decided for themselves if the participation by the...