Health Care

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Visa Inc., up $3.05 to $74.80 The payment processing company's third-quarter profit jumped 25 percent, helped by a double-digit rise in activity on its network.

The European Medicines Agency is recommending that the world's leading malaria vaccine be licensed even though it is only about 30 percent effective and that protection fades over time.

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) on Friday reported second-quarter profit of $1.37 billion.

Higher sales of Amgen's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel and some newer drugs boosted second-quarter profit 7 percent.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that some doctors and pharmacies are getting confused by the similar names of an antidepressant and a blood-thinning medicine.

Drugmaker Mylan on Thursday used a provision of Dutch law to put up a barrier that makes it harder for larger rival Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to buy the company.

Drug maker Roche Holding AG says its first-half profit was weighed down by the surging Swiss franc and one-time effects, while solid sales of cancer treatments helped push revenue higher.

Pfizer is expanding its research on vaccines to eventually cover the entire lifespan, from shots for pregnant women to protect babies from the moment of birth to vaccines for senior citizens with waning immune systems.

A federal appeals court has ruled that Novartis can begin selling its lower-cost copy of an Amgen Inc. drug in September, rejecting a bid to further delay the launch of the knock-off biotech medication.

Drugmaker Horizon Pharma PLC is boosting its offer for Depomed to $33 per share.

Ohio has licensed a clinic that plans to start offering surgical abortions while other abortion providers wrangle with the state over backup-care requirements that could make it more difficult for them to continue, state records show.

Cancer drug maker Celgene says it will buy drug developer Receptos for $7.32 billion cash, gaining a drug Receptos is studying as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis.

Depomed has adopted a "poison pill" plan less than a week after Horizon Pharma went hostile with a $2.1 billion takeover bid.

Federal health regulators are bolstering warning labels on popular pain relievers like Advil and Aleve, adding new information about the risks of heart attack and stroke.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is naming Stefano Pessina CEO, making permanent a role the executive has filled since the largest drugstore chains in the United States and Great Britain closed their combination at the end of last year.