HEALTH

SkyePharma, a British company developing new ways to administer existing drugs, said it is in talks to buy San Diego-based rival DepoTech Corp. for as much as $56.2 million in stock. SkyePharma’s move would be the second investment in San Diego by a European drug delivery company within a month. Ireland’s Elan Corp., the world’s No. 1 drug delivery systems developer, said last month it would buy as much as 8% of San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s shares and enable Ligand to market Elan’s morphine pill in the U.S.