Business & Industry News Channel
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which Merck and Schering-Plough will combine, under the name Merck, in a stock and cash transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, Schering-Plough shareholders will receive 0.5767 shares and $10.50 in cash for each share of Schering-Plough.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) has announced a global collaboration with Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. and Teijin Pharma Limited for the development and commercialization of NTC-801, a selective inhibitor of the acetylcholine-activated potassium ion channel (IKACh), currently in Phase I development in Japan, for the maintenance of normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation.
NICE has issued its final appraisal determinationadvising against NHS funding for Tyverb® (lapatinib), a treatment for an aggressive form of advanced breast cancer (ErbB2-positive).(1) Lapatinib (in combination with Xeloda® [capecitebine]) offers a new treatment option for women whose disease has returned despite treatment with standard chemotherapies and Herceptin® (trastuzumab).(2) 
"From an operational standpoint, 2008 was the most successful year in Bayer's long history," said Management Board Chairman Werner Wenning on Tuesday at the Spring Financial News Conference in Leverkusen. He explained that Bayer is benefiting from its alignment toward the life-science businesses HealthCare and CropScience, which are less dependent on global economic development. 
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) announced today that it has entered into a series of agreements with Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., a pharmaceutical company based in India, to commercialize medicines that are no longer patent protected, and have lost market exclusivity in the United States and Europe, further progressing its Established Products Business Unit strategy.
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT : SAN and NYSE : SNY), announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for the first intradermal (ID) microinjection influenza vaccine. The advantages of this vaccine, in particular the convenience and the ease of administration, should help improve the coverage rate in Europe. 
Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced that the European Commission has approved the production of Myozyme® (alglucosidase alfa) at the 4000 liter (L) bioreactor scale at its manufacturing facility in Geel, Belgium. The product will be made commercially available immediately. Myozyme is the only approved treatment for Pompe disease, a progressively debilitating and often fatal inherited disorder.