Men are much less likely than women to live into their 90s, but those who do have a much lower chance of having Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

GlaxoSmithKline's new chief executive plans to make the world's second largest drugmaker a broader business and give it a simplified structure, which will reduce its running costs.

Switzerland based pharmaceutical company Roche said on Monday that it had offered to buy the outstanding shares in its US partner Genentech for $43.7 billion (£22 billion).

AstraZeneca shares jumped more than 6 percent on Wednesday after the group won a key U.S. patent battle over its second-biggest selling drug, Seroquel, for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

A laser treatment that wipes out drug-resistant bacterial infections may one day help doctors tackle the growing problem of superbugs, British researchers said on Tuesday.

A lower IQ increases a person's risk of developing a common form of dementia, a study found on Wednesday.

Sanofi-Aventis won a final green light for its obesity drug Acomplia from cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE on Wednesday, clearing the way for doctors to prescribe it on the state health service.

A cancer vaccine more than doubled the survival time of people with the most common and deadly type of brain tumor, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

GlaxoSmithKline has been given approval by the European Union to sell a vaccine called Prepandrix, to counter the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Actor Dennis Quaid urged the U.S. Congress on Wednesday to preserve patients' rights to sue drugmakers for injuries, recounting how his newborn twins nearly died from an accidental drug overdose.

Southern Cross Healthcare Group Plc said on Monday that its total revenue for the half year to 30 March 2008 went up 28.2 per cent to £431.2 million. The company said that revenue relating to acquisitions had also risen from £9.0 million in the first half of 2007 to £20.1 million i...

United Drug Plc, on Tuesday said that its pre-tax profit for the six months ended 31 March 2008 went up 15 per cent to 33.28 million euros. The Irish drug-maker also reported a rise in revenue of 9 per cent to 845.07 million euros.

Up to 70 percent of British schoolgirls are likely to take up the offer of a vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer, despite doubts about other vaccines, researchers reported on Thursday.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Plc has reported a rise in fourth quarter sales of 10 per cent to $7,677 million. The company's pre-tax profit however was down 5.0 per cent to $2,143 million.

Healthcare Locums Plc has reported a 108 per cent growth in sales for the full year 2007, from £65 million to £135 million. The company said that its organic like-for-like profit growth rate was up to 21 per cent, a rise from the rate of 16 per cent in 2006.

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals Plc saw its shares rise today after it announced discussions which could lead to a takeover of the company. At 1:25pm shares in the company had gone up 57.81 per cent.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC and the American based Synta Pharmaceuticals have said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the drug Elesclomol, orphan drug status. Elesclomol is a medicine meant to treat metastatic melanoma.

UK based Reckitt Benckiser Group have said that they have received antitrust approval from US regulators to acquire US drugmaker Adams Respiratory Therapeutics.

Five generic firms have recently filed manufacturing applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make a form of AstraZeneca's cholesterol drug Crestor, suggesting a patent challenge could be imminent, according to Citigroup analysts.