Wyeth Inc. (WYE) News

CHICAGO, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. pharmaceutical giant Abbot Laboratories said it would buy Belgian drug company Solvay's prescription drug division for $6.6 billion cash.

In doing so, Abbott would take full possession of TriCor, an anti-cholesterol pill that took in $1.3 billion in sales in 2008, The New York Times reported Monday.

Currently, Abbot and Solvay share in TriCor's proceeds. In addition, Abbott will fully own Trilipix, a new cholesterol treatment the Food and Drug Administration approved in December.

Solvay has several other drugs in production, including treatments for hypertension, hormone replacement and neurological ailments, the Times said.

Abbot joins other pharmaceutical concerns that expanded their portfolios this year.

In January, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) proposed a $68 billion deal for Wyeth. (NYSE:WYE) Merck (NYSE:MRK) offered to buy Schering, Plough (NYSE:SGP PRB) (NYSE:SGP) for $41 billion in March. Roche then offered $47 billion for Genentech.

Abbott's exclusive patent rights for TriCor run out in 2011. Its patent exclusive for cholesterol drug Niaspan and prostate cancer drug Lupron runs out in 2013, the Times said. In 2016, the company surrenders its exclusive rights to Kalestra, an HIV treatment.

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Innovation in personnel management is alive and well despite the prolonged U.S. recession -- maybe even because of it -- a survey of small businesses found.

A Wall Street Journal survey conducted with Winning Workplaces, a non-profit business consultant firm from Evanston, Ill., found one company -- Advanced Technology Institute of North Charleston, S.C. -- that made the chief financial officer into a chief talent officer and initiated a practice of paying $500 bonuses to any employee who recommends a new worker who, if hired, sticks with the company for six months.

Analytical Graphics Inc. of Exton, Pa., installed washers and dryers in offices after some workers complained that doing laundry created a time-crunch, the Journal reported Monday.

At Anthony Wilder Design/Build Inc. in Cabin John, Md., employees at monthly meetings learn where the firm stands financially. Company co-founder Elizabeth Wilder said sharing such information means employees "can feel it, see it, quantify it" -- and can then come up with suggestions for cutting costs and stirring up new revenue, the Journal said.

Further, after employees took pay cuts during a recent downturn, they were given partial back pay when finances improved, the Journal said.

GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Canadians in the northern Nunavut territory are not seeing the benefits of falling prices, as they are in the rest of Canada, local officials said.

"It's hard living up here, in a small community like this, where the majority of people are unemployed and have to depend on welfare," said Joanni Sallerina, mayor of Gjoa Haven, a northern hamlet of 1,150 people, the Toronto Star reported Monday.

While prices dropped 0.8 percent across Canada in August compared to August 2008, inflation is 1.5 percent in the Nunavut territory, where residents spend about two-thirds of their income on food.

Because most foods are shipped in, the price of a two-liter bottle of milk is $8.99. A 12-can case of Coca-Cola runs $27.47, the newspaper said.

In the spring, when supplies run low from ice-bound months during which freighters cannot get in, a can of Coca-Cola can cost up to $4, the Star said.

Some resort to packages mailed by Canada Post, which are offered at subsidized rates for approved food items, such as milk and vegetables.

Foods approved by the mail service include pizza and frozen dinners. But hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken are not allowed, the Star said.