Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is getting close to conducting phase 3 trials for a combination treatment for Hepatitis C, which could potentially rejuvenate the pharmaceutical giant’s revenue growth. The clinical data for a combination of drugs MK-5172 and MK-8742 has showed high cure rates among patients with genotype 1 of the disease, and this has encouraged Merck to move to phase 3 trials. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) stock performance was 0.45% in last session and finished the day at $55.98. Traded volume was 8.96million shares in the last session and the average volume of the stock remained 12.77million shares. The beta of the stock remained 0.32. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) insider ownership is 0.03%.

Final draft guidance from the UK health care costs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), published today, does not recommend US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Janssen’s Stelara (ustekinumab) for psoriatic arthritis, confirming the negative draft guidance issued last year (The Pharma Letter December 27, 2013). Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 0.16percent to $97.44 Friday on volume of 8.82million shares. The intra-day range of the stock was $96.96 to $98.22. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has a market capitalization of $275.65billion.

Xalkori from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) cleared the Phase 3 trial for first-line therapy against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The drug candidate showed superior results compared to chemotherapy in previously untreated patients. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock on Mar 28, 2014 reported a decrease of -0.69% to the closing price of $31.88. Its fifty two weeks range is $27.12-$32.96. The total market capitalization recorded $203.83billion. The overall volume in the last trading session was 21.97million shares. In its share capital, PFE has 6.81billion outstanding shares.

Novartis AG (ADR) (NVS) announced on March 26 that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its investigational compound, certinib (LDK378), a “breakthrough therapy” status. The drug is being developed to treat patients with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). At present, multiple players in the market are trying to develop an ALK inhibitor, including Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) in collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical of Japan, and Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA). On Friday, shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) advanced 5.00% to close the day at $7.98. Company return on investment (ROI) is -93.20% and its monthly performance is recorded as -11.23%. Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) quarterly revenue growth is 14.00%.