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A few years ago, the drug companies dominating mergers-and-acquisitions headlines were largely household names, from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. to Novartis AG. These days, a new generation of deal makers is making news, with names distinctly less familiar: Actavis PLC, Endo International PLC and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. Within the past few weeks, two other relatively under-the-radar companies, Mylan NV and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., also entered the fray. (Rockoff and Walker, 4/22)

Over the past year, prices for many generic drugs have been climbing, prompting concerns that a low-cost staple of the U.S. health care system might soon strain budgets. And two new reports indicate that prices continued to rise during the first quarter of this year, but not at the same rapid rate that was seen at times in 2014. (Silverman, 4/22)

Novartis AG on Thursday reported a huge rise in first-quarter profit as the proceeds of a series of transactions that overhauled the Swiss drug giant flattered its results. Basel-based Novartis said net profit attributable to shareholders rose more than four times to $13 billion in the quarter ended March 31 as the company recorded one-time gains of $12.8 billion on the sales of businesses to GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Eli Lilly and Co. Novartis reported $2.94 billion in net profit a year earlier. (Morse, 4/23)