Biotech Relypsa (RLYP) soared in afternoon trading Friday as reports spread that it was nearing a sale. Shortly before noon, Street Insider quoted an anonymous source saying that Merck (MRK) was about to make an offer for Relypsa for an unknown price. About an hour and a half later, the Financial Times reported that its own anonymous source said that Relypsa was merely starting the process without a particular buyer, though GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Prices for prescription skin drugs to treat everything from acne to skin cancer are skyrocketing, a report out Wednesday found, adding to the public debate about how much drugmakers ought to charge. A study published in JAMA Dermatology said that a survey of 19 brand-name prescription drugs, including those from Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Novartis (NVS), found their prices jumped 401% on average between 2009 and 2015.
Embattled generic drugmaker Perrigo (PRGO) agreed to buy a portfolio of over-the-counter drugs from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Tuesday, in a move some interpreted as helping it fend off the advances of Mylan (MYL). For an undisclosed sum, Perrigo agreed to acquire a variety of products including cold and flu medicines, nicotine patches and cold-sore treatments, whose sales totaled $110 million last year largely in European markets. Glaxo, for its part,