Hundreds of companies around the world are chasing an emerging market for cheaper copies of costly biotech drugs, with more than 700 so-called biosimilars now in development or already approved, according to a major study of the sector.

Shares in drugmakers AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Shire (SHP.L) both fell more than 5 percent on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury took steps to curb "inversion" deals that allow companies to escape high U.S. taxes by reincorporating abroad.

U.S. fund managers are finding a lot to like about finger-painting and naptime. Fund ownership of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc, the only publicly traded daycare company in the United States, swelled 21 percent in the most recently reported quarter according to fund tracker Morningstar.

Though speculation is rife of a new Pfizer bid, AstraZeneca's chief executive is not holed up with advisers in London or New York. Instead, he has spent the last three days immersed in heart science in Barcelona.

Oklahoma, US-based anti-abortion craft store chain Hobby Lobby stirred controversy by investing $73 million in Pfizer, Bayer, and other companies that make abortive drugs and contraception.

After lackluster activity in the past years, pharmaceutical firms have gotten back to producing new drugs but they encounter challenges in selling them, according to a report on The Wall Street Journal.

Ben Venue Laboratories, a subsidiary of German Boehringer Ingelheim in the US, has engaged Bank of American Merill Lynch to advise it on a proposed sale of its sterile injectable drugs business.

Merck & Co. decided to cut its annual spending by USD2.5 billion and eliminate more than 10% of its global workers.

Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novartis are among those to propose bids for Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

Pfizer invests in two plants in Ireland. A company restructuring in Pfizer's two plants went underway as the pharmaceutical giant announced that a US$130 million investment is heading their way.