Drugs giant Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) third-quarter earnings dropped 14 per cent Thursday as the end of U.S. exclusivity for blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor led to lower sales.

Viagra maker Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.44 billion, or 19 cents per share, down from $2.89 billion, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.

Last November, Roche dropped out of RNAi research after $500 million in investments over the previous three years. Pfizer and Abbott announced in February they were both cutting their RNAi drug discovery programs. On July 29, Merck shut its San Francisco RNAi research facility

U.S. markets reversed sharp gains from earlier in the session on Wednesday as commens from Fed chief Ben Bernanke and minutes from the central bank's latest meeting suggested that the tapering of the aggressive easing policies could begin in the coming months. 

Soligenix (OTCQB:SNGX) shares extended their year-to-date gains on Wednesday after the biopharmaceutical company announced that it has been granted a U.S. patent for its Thermovax vaccine thermostabilization technology. 

U.S. stocks are getting a lift from Federal Reserve comments about the central bank's bond-buying program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose nearly 70 points after dipping below the previous close early in the trading session. 

U.S. stock market futures shifted lower on Tuesday as investors look for more clues on any tapering of the Federal Reserve’s easing program. Two Fed presidents with voting rights on the interest-rate setting committee are due to speak later in the day. Futures for the Dow industrials rose less than 0.1 percent to 15,323,00 while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was little changed at 1,664.60 and the Nasdaq 100 index futures slipped less than 0.1 percent to 3,018.25.

U.S. markets rose on Friday after positive economic reports that boosted investor sentiment to recover losses from the previous session, with benchmark indexes set to record their fourth straight week of gains and close at another set of record highs.