 |  |
| Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 12:21 PM PDT | |
| Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo News:
| |
| | |
| Exclusive: Merck in final talks to sell consumer unit for near $14 billion - sources Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 12:21 PM PDT By Anjuli Davies, Olivia Oran and Soyoung Kim LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc is in the final stages of selling its consumer healthcare unit for close to $14 billion, with Bayer AG and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc among final contenders to clinch a deal as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said. Germany's Bayer and British consumer products giant Reckitt have emerged as frontrunners to win the auction after each offering roughly $13.5 billion for the Merck consumer unit, best known for Coppertone sunscreen and Claritin allergy medicine, the sources said. Representatives for U.S. drugmaker Merck, as well as Bayer and Reckitt, declined to comment. The sale would be the latest in a wave of healthcare deals in recent days, including Zimmer Holdings Inc's $13.35 billion acquisition of orthopaedics rival Biomet Inc and the agreement between Novartis AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc to trade more than $20 billion worth of assets, with Eli Lilly and Co buying Novartis' animal health business for $5.4 billion. Full Story | Top |
| GE boss to meet French minister as Alstom deal progresses Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 11:52 AM PDT  By Elizabeth Pineau and Benjamin Mallet PARIS (Reuters) - General Electric boss Jeff Immelt is due in Paris on Sunday and is expected to meet France's economy minister as he closes in on a deal to buy the global power arm of struggling French engineer Alstom, sources close to the matter said. Some put a $13 billion valuation on Alstom's turbines and power grid equipment business. Sources close to the government who flagged the likely meeting between economy minister Arnaud Montebourg and Immelt said Prime Minister Manuel Valls might also meet the chief executive, who heads one of the 10 largest investor-controlled companies in the world, should the more senior politician return from a visit to Rome in time. French media said a decisive Alstom board meeting, the second since Friday, would also take place on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt discovers first case of potentially deadly MERS virus Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 06:33 AM PDT Egypt has discovered its first case of the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in an Egyptian citizen who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia, Egypt's Ministry of Health said on Saturday. Saudi Arabia, which has been hardest-hit by the MERS virus, announced on Friday it had discovered 14 more cases in the kingdom, bringing the total number to 313.[ID:nL6N0NH52I] Although the number of MERS infections worldwide is fairly small, the more than 40 percent death rate among confirmed cases and the spread of the virus beyond the Middle East is keeping scientists and public health officials on alert. A spokesman for the World Health Organisation in Geneva said on Friday it was "concerned" about the rising MERS numbers in Saudi Arabia urging for a speedy scientific breakthrough about the virus and its route of infection. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt discovers first case of sars-like coronavirus - state TV Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 05:23 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has discovered its first case of the sars-like novel coronavirus in a patient at a Cairo hospital who recently arrived from Saudi Arabia, state TV said on Saturday. The virus which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to Europe and has already caused dozens of deaths. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to visit Ethiopia, Congo and Angola next week Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 12:23 AM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola from April 29 to May 5 to promote democracy and human rights, the State Department said on Friday. Kerry will meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom in Addis Ababa to discuss peace efforts in the region and strengthen ties with Ethiopia, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Pennsylvania parents to keep twins conjoined Friday, Apr 25, 2014 09:40 PM PDT A Pennsylvania couple has decided not to split their newborn conjoined twins, local news outlets said, citing the high risk of surgery for the boys. Garrett and Andrew Stancombe were born healthy two weeks ago conjoined at the torso and sharing a heart and liver, the twins' mother Michelle Van Horne told Pittsburgh-CBS affiliate KDKA, and were released from their hospital four days later. Van Horne and her husband Kody Stancombe decided against separating the twins due to the serious risks of surgery, Van Horne said to KDKA, but the boys' current condition is no guarantee of a long life. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment