drug-development

Longer and more complicated trials have led to skyrocketing drug-development costs.

Medical Innovation: How the U.S. Can Retain Its Lead Andrew von Eschenbach 2012

Celgene Chief Executive Robert Hugin said the company also was drawn to Avila's drug-development platform, which uses protein-silencing technology aimed at shutting down the activity of disease-causing proteins.

Celgene to Acquire Biotech Firm Avila Jon Kamp 2012

Roche's recent drug-development success has also been mixed, with approvals in skin-cancer drugs but delays in diabetes drugs and a discontinued rheumatoid-arthritis treatment.

No Illumina-tion for Roche Hester Plumridge 2012

More photos and interactive graphics It was a relatively strong financial performance in a challenging year for Merck, as it has experienced setbacks in its drug-development efforts and announced layoff plans for thousands of employees to cut costs ahead of expected patent expirations for top-selling drugs.

Merck: Stronger but Vigilant Peter Loftus 2011

Roche launched a revamp in 2010 after a series of drug-development setbacks.

Roche Upbeat on Outlook as Profit Rises Sten Stovall 2012

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Roche's recent drug-development success has been mixed.

No Illumina-tion for Roche Hester Plumridge 2012

Mixed in with Bristol-Myers' recent drug-development victories, however, has been a setback: Last week an FDA advisory panel recommended against approval of experimental diabetes drug dapagliflozin, which Bristol-Myers has co-developed with AstraZeneca PLC.

Bristol-Myers Net Falls, but Plavix Sales Are Up Peter Loftus 2011

Positive pipeline news would be a boon to Roche's share price, which lost more than 20% during 2010 when a series of drug-development failures, negative regulatory verdicts and global austerity programs hurt its business.

EU Backs Avastin for Breast Cancer Goran Mijuk 2011

In the coming year there looks little by way of drug-development news that could materially boost earnings expectations.

AstraZeneca Still Falling Behind Rivals Hester Plumridge 2011

The company will close two factories in Switzerland and one in Italy, and eliminate some drug-development jobs in the U.S., it said.

Novartis Plans to Cut 2,000 Jobs Goran Mijuk 2011