Merck gets into a safe zone (marketwatch.com)

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marketwatch.com Shares of Merck(MRK 34.71, +0.85, +2.51%)   rose almost 3% to $34.68 in morning trading.

Merck said early Friday that it has reached a deal with Johnson & Johnson(JNJ 60.89, +0.87, +1.45%)   that will allow it to retain some of the marketing rights to the lucrative rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade. The drug previously had been co-marketed by J&J and Schering-Plough, which Merck acquired in 2009.

J&J had asserted that the Schering-Plough takeover triggered a change-of-control clause in Remicade’s marketing agreement, thereby granting full commercial control to J&J.

Under the deal, Merck will pay J&J $500 million up-front, but retain marketing rights in Europe, Russia and Turkey.

Related articles

• Merck climbs 3% on J&J deal over Remicade (marketwatch.com)
• Merck, J&J cut a deal on rights to the drugs Remicade and Simponi (usatoday.com)
• Merck, J&J reach deal to end drug rights dispute (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Roche results franked

Roche suffered even as Franc sales continue to get easier to print into dollars getting it $12 billion in sales while price cuts by DM governments, currency appreciation and losing franchises ( down 50% in Tamiflu and even for cancer drug Avastin) got a disappointing picture emerging. The company is expecting to end 2011 with a near double digit EPS performance and going by big pharma restructuring would be comparable to Pfizer in sales after it drawsdown on its restructuring plan and manages to lose the much talked $12 billion Lipitor to Generics

Related articles

• Roche Sales Fall By 9% (online.wsj.com)
• Roche First-Quarter Sales Drop on Franc's Strength, Avastin (businessweek.com)
• Roche half-year profit rises 37 percent to $5.3B (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Roche Second-Half Net Falls on Costs, Franc Strength (businessweek.com)