Business & Industry News Channel
European adults and adolescents often do not get the essential vitamins and minerals needed from their diet, even if it is well-balanced. This is the overall consensus shared by outstanding scientists in the field of micronutrient research, who gathered today at the Universidad Politéchnica de Madrid on the occasion of the first European Nutritionals Press Workshop organized by Bayer HealthCare. 
Pfizer Inc has provided an update to its pipeline, highlighting the progression of clinical programs in high-priority therapeutic areas, and announced the start of Phase 3 clinical trials for two new molecular entities. In total, the company initiated seven Phase 3 programs within the past six months.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced the submission of two simultaneous regulatory applications to expand the use of Tyverb®/Tykerb® (lapatinib). If authorised, lapatinib could be used as a first-line therapy regimen combined with anti-hormonal therapy for patients with hormone-sensitive, metastatic (or advanced) breast cancer in Europe and the United States.
Bayer CropScience and the National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS) in Paris, France, have renewed a framework agreement signed in 2005. The new, joint research projects pursued under this agreement are intended to contribute to ensuring a sustainable food supply for a growing world population in the context of climate change.
Data from a new study showed that Abbott's TRILIPIX(R) (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules in combination with rosuvastatin calcium met all of the study's primary endpoints. TRILIPIX 135 mg in combination with rosuvastatin calcium 5 mg significantly improved HDL cholesterol and triglycerides compared to rosuvastatin calcium 5 mg alone, and significantly improved LDL cholesterol compared to TRILIPIX 135 mg alone in patients with multiple lipid problems. Bayer will launch a titration pack for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) that is specially designed to make it easier for them to start Betaferon® (interferon beta-1b) therapy. From now on, the titration pack will be available in Germany. More European countries will follow in 2009. The four-week pack facilitates a gradual increase in dose as recommended for patients new on Betaferon®.
Merck KGaA announced the formation of 'Merck Serono Ventures', a strategic, corporate venture capital fund to invest in emerging biotechnology companies. The fund will support biotech start-up companies that have the potential to provide innovative products in the Merck Serono division's core therapeutic areas, in particular in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Oncology and Autoimmune & Inflammatory Diseases. 