Medical
Japan's Otsuka to buy Avanir for $3.5 billion ahead of patent cliff
Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd plans to buy U.S.-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $3.5 billion to expand its neurologic drug portfolio ahead of an expiration of a key drug patent.
AbbVie adds children's AIDS drugs to shared patent pool
U.S. drugmaker AbbVie has added two HIV medicines for children to a shared patent pool in an initiative that should speed the development of cheap new pediatric formulations for use in poor countries.
China drafts policy on emergency Ebola diagnosis, approves products
China has drafted a policy on the emergency use of diagnostic products for the Ebola virus disease and clinical trials, the country's drug regulator said on Friday, as the number of people affected globally by the epidemic nears 16,000.
Medtronic wins conditional EU approval for $43 billion Covidien buy
U.S. medical device maker Medtronic (MDT.N) gained European Union regulatory approval on Friday for its $43 billion takeover of Covidien Plc (COV.N) after agreeing to sell its Irish rival's drug-coated balloon catheter business.