Pfizer is buying Mylan in an all-stock deal and combining the $10bn generic pharmaceutical company with its own off-patent branded and generic business.

International law firm William Fry has opened an office in Cork because of continued growth in its Munster business, including tech and life sciences, it said.

ILC Dover has announced its expansion with a new facility in Blarney, Co Cork which is set to create 70 jobs over two years.

Up to 350 new jobs are being promised over the next five years by an Irish-owned pharmaceutical company.

Takeda Pharmaceutical has cleared a hurdle for its $62bn (€53bn) acquisition of Shire, receiving unconditional approval from the US Federal Trade Commission two months after sealing its biggest deal ever.

Latest: 550 jobs have been announced for Dublin in two separate announcements.

Life Science Recruitment, part of the Vertical Markets group, said Cork and Munster had huge potential in the sectors.

Ireland could attract fewer manufacturing investments in future years from US pharmaceutical giants, according to a leading analyst, as President Donald Trump unveiled a plan to cut the tax levied on US companies to 20%.

Shares in Shire rose to its highest level in 10 months in London after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its Xiidra drops to treat dry-eye disease, the first treatment for the ailment to be approved in more than a decade.

Operating profits at Newry-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Norbrook Laboratories jumped by 47.5% last year to £32.3m (€41m).

Dublin pharmaceutical R&D company, APC, is using revolutionary technology to help pharmaceutical companies bring new medicines to the market quickly.

Drug giant AstraZeneca has agreed to buy US firm ZS Pharma in a $2.7bn (€2.5bn) cash deal.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Turing Pharmaceuticals are the focus of two probes in Congress seeking to examine why the companies raised the prices of medications sharply after acquiring them.

Pharmaceutical giant Shire, which is headquartered in Ireland for tax purposes, has agreed to buy US rare disease specialist Dyax Corp for about $5.9bn (€5.35bn), and potentially up to $6.5bn, while still pursuing a five- times larger unsolicited bid for biopharma firm Baxalta Inc.

Ireland’s tax regime may again face the international spotlight, at an uncomfortable time for the country, after two of the world’s pharmaceutical giants yesterday confirmed they are in talks over a mega billion dollar merger that appears to be driven by Irish tax considerations.