Eli Lilly said it is suspending two small studies of its most promising pipeline candidate, the blood-thinner prasugrel, after data raised concerns about the dosage used in certain patient groups.

A late-stage trial of Eli Lillys inhaled insulin is slated to wrap in time for the firm to submit the product in 2009, an executive said today.

A worldwide Phase II trial of a Merck HIV vaccine was halted after an independent reviewer found the vaccine ineffective, the firm said.

Mercks Cordaptive, an extended-release niacin combined with a flushing inhibitor, has been filed for approval with the FDA, the firm said.

Wyeths pipeline suffered a pair of setbacks Friday as the FDA rejected Wyeths schizophrenia drug bifeprunox and safety concerns led the drugmaker to stop using a developmental Hepatitis C drug in a patient study.

ImClone Systems said Thursday that former Johnson Johnson executive John Johnson will take over as CEO effective Aug. 27.

The FDA is scheduled to convene a panel of outside experts to review Mercks developmental HIV treatment Isentress on Sept. 5.

Merck and Ariad Pharmaceuticals have agreed to the terms of a potential billion-dollar global collaboration deal to develop and market Ariads cancer treatment known as AP23573.

Johnson Johnson hasnt given up on becoming first to market with an Rx drug approved for premature ejaculation, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Swiss drugmaker Roche said it has entered a deal worth up to $1 billion with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to gain access to the Cambridge, MA-based firms skills in RNA interference (RNAi) technology.