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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. said Wednesday that it will cut 7200 jobs by the end of 2011 to lower costs, with 40% of the reductions coming from the U.S. Merck also will cut its number of senior and mid-level executives by about 25%. As of Sept. 30, Merck had about 56,700 employees. The job cuts plan came as Merck said its third-quarter net income fell to $1.09 billion, or 51 cents a share, from $1.53 billion, or 70 cents, a year earlier. Sales declined to $5.94 billion from $6.07 billion. Excluding items, the company said it would have earned 80 cents a share. Merck also forecast full-year profit excluding non-recurring items of $3.28 to $3.32 a share. It was expected to earn 79 cents a share in the third quarter and $3.28 for the year, according to FactSet Research.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday reported a 21.5% drop in third-quarter profit, as copycat drugs limited sales growth and cost-cutting moves ate into the bottom line.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wyeth Corp. said Wednesday that third-quarter earnings were $1.14 billion, or 84 cents a share, compared to $1.34 billion, or 84 cents, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $5.83 billion, compared to $5.62 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 90 cents and sales of $5.83 billion. Wyeth's adjusted earnings per share were steady at 90 cents.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Applied Biosystems Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit totaled $77.2 million, or 44 cents a share, from $61.7 million, or 32 cents a share, in the same quarter a year before. The company said its prior results were restated to reflect the spin-off of its Celera Group into a separately traded company in July. Analysts had expected earnings on average of 40 cents a share, according to a FactSet Research survey. Revenue for the quarter was $533 million compared to $501 million in the year-ago period.

U.S. stock market futures pointed to steep losses Wednesday amid worries about corporate earnings as the economy weakens, with Wachovia reporting a loss of nearly $24 billion after a massive goodwill impairment.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks wallowed with the broader market in negative territory early Wednesday as shares of all of the major U.S.-traded pharmaceutical companies lost ground. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index retrenched 2% to 259.25 and the Amex Biotechnology Index retracted 3% to 644.70 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 233 points to 8800. Wyeth was the steepest decliner amongst the large cap drugmakers, with shares down 5%. Early Wednesday, Wyeth reported lackluster third-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Merck & Co. posts third-quarter net earnings that contracted by nearly 30% from a year ago, weighed down by heavy restructuring costs and lackluster pharmaceutical sales.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Genzyme Corp. said Wednesday that its third-quarter net income fell to $119.6 million, or 42 cents a share, from $159.3 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Results in the most recent quarter reflect a $100 million licensing fee for PTC124, a genetic disease drug in late-stage development. On an adjusted basis, quarterly profit was $1.04 a share. On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research expected earnings of 92 cents a share. Revenue at the biotechnology company rose to $1.16 billion from $960.2 million. Genzyme said it expects adjusted earnings of about $4.70 a share in 2009, rising to about $7.00 a share by 2011.

Novartis has strengthened its capabilities for developing medicines that can be delivered via the lungs through a definitive agreement to acquire the pulmonary drug delivery business unit of Nektar ...

BERKELEY, CA and WHITEHOUSE STATION, NJ - Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: DVAX) and Merck & Co., Inc. have received communication from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding t... [WebWire - Wednesday, October 22, 2008]