Pfizer has lost the final round in a long-running patent battle in the UK after the country’s highest court ruled against it in a case involving its €4.4bn-a-year pain drug Lyrica.

In the fight against HIV/Aids, some stories illuminate the long road to global eradication more than others. In 2009, I heard one such story in Tanzania, writes Heather Bresch. 

In the fight against HIV/Aids, some stories illuminate the long road to global eradication more than others. In 2009, I heard one such story in Tanzania, Heather Bresch. 

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will unveil proposals to deter US companies from shifting profits overseas, including an “exit tax” to penalise firms that perform so-called tax inversions, a campaign official said.

Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy the generic-drug business of Allergan for about $40.5bn (€36.8bn) in cash and stock, ending its hostile bid for rival Mylan.

Dublin-domiciled drug firm Perrigo is set to significantly strengthen its status as one of the world’s leading over-the-counter drugs makers by acquiring a selection of such brands from industry giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

US-based Mylan yesterday offered to buy fellow drugmaker Perrigo whose headquarters are in Dublin for $28.9bn (€26.73bn), a deal that would create a powerhouse for generic medicine.

President Barack Obama plans to go on the offensive against companies that use cross-borders mergers to escape US taxes, accusing them of essentially renouncing their citizenship to shield profits.

Mylan is buying Abbott Laboratories’ generic-drug business and forming a new company that will be incorporated in the Netherlands, giving the new operation a lower- cost tax base.

JAZZ Pharmaceut-icals just got more alluring as a takeover target after adding to its suite of medicines for rare diseases.

THE story of Elan is so full of improbable twists that if you were to read about it in a novel, you would struggle to accept it as believable.

Irish biotechnology company Elan is to be bought by Perrigo — the leading maker of generic over-the- counter drug products in the US — for $8.6bn (€6.5bn).

IDA Ireland might have a reputation for making large-scale job announcements, but official figures show its track record over the past decade is decidedly mixed.

The head of the State body responsible for attracting foreign investment into the country yesterday said that even though he was very aware of the jobs crisis in the south-east, it was very hard for his agency to do anything about it.

Yet another US company has chosen Ireland as the location for its European hub, this time with the creation of up to 100 jobs.

The number of job opportunities in Ireland decreased slightly during the past month, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.

Senior decision-makers in multinational companies "are considering investing in Ireland but are concerned about the possible fallout of a No vote" in the upcoming EU fiscal treaty referendum, Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has claimed.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has set off on a trade mission to the US.

Five hundred new jobs are being created at Apple's European Headquarters in Cork, it was announced today.

A US pharmaceutical firm has announced the creation of 500 jobs in Dublin and Galway.

US pharmaceutical company Mylan has announced the creation of 500 new jobs in Ireland by 2016.

An agreement to boost the eurozone bailout fund lifted London’s leading shares index today and helped it finish the first quarter of 2012 with gains of 3.5%.

THE privately owned Galway-based pharmaceutical company, Bioniche Pharma, has been sold for €431.25 million to US firm Mylan.