Health
UnitedHealth quarterly profit rises 3 percent
NEW YORK (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings rose 3 percent, in line with Wall Street's target, helped by improved performance in its Medicaid plans for low-income Americans and its health-care analytics unit. Full Article
UPDATE 4-J&J profit jumps, boosted overseas by weak dollar
NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings rose almost 10 percent, beating estimates, helped by lower taxes and by a weak dollar that propelled overseas sales of its drugs, medical devices and consumer products. Full Article
Stryker recalls some artificial hip devices
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Stryker Corp said on Tuesday it is recalling some artificial hip products manufactured at its Cork, Ireland, facility because the devices did not meet company standards for sterility. Full Article
Barr says in talks with J&J unit on patent dispute
NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday it was talks with a Johnson & Johnson unit to settle a patent dispute involving the oral contraceptive Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. Full Article
UPDATE 4-Roche wins Ventana with raised $3.4 bln bid
ZURICH, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG has overcome Ventana Medical System Inc's resistance to its takeover bid by raising the price, acquiring the diagnostics maker for $3.4 billion to boost its cancer testing business. Full Article
J&J Cypher sales plunge, hurt by fewer procedures
NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said fourth-quarter global sales of its Cypher stent plunged 31 percent to $415 million, hurt by rival products and blood-clot concerns that have prompted doctors to perform fewer stenting procedures. Full Article
Vytorin prescriptions off, but stability seen-analyst
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - New prescriptions for Schering-Plough and Merck's Vytorin cholesterol drug plunged after negative trial results were revealed, though the rout stabilized after a few days, according to a Wall Street analysis. Full Article
Ambrilia says Octreotide drug effective in test
TORONTO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Ambrilia Biopharma Inc said on Tuesday preliminary Phase III results of show its Octreotide induced a "highly statistically significant decrease" of Growth Factor and Growth Hormone plasma levels. Full Article
EMC profit up as software, hardware sales increase
NEW YORK (Reuters) - EMC Corp , the No. 1 maker of corporate data storage equipment, reported higher quarterly profit on Tuesday on strong software and hardware sales. Full Article
UPDATE 1-BioMerieux 2007 sales top forecasts
PARIS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - French healthcare diagnostics firm BioMerieux reported a 7.4 percent like-for-like rise in full-year 2007 revenues on Tuesday, and predicted 2008 sales growth at least as high as that of the previous year. Full Article
Asia stocks drop with yen surging
Oct 6 - Asian stocks dropped by around 5 percent on Monday. Play Video
Editor's Choice
Seawater spray cures kids colds, say to Czech researchers
CHICAGO (Reuters) - For parents worried about how to treat children's colds now that some medicines have been called into question, the answer may be a dose of salt water. Full Article
