With its "crossover year" delivered in 2012 and UCB's new core medicines now driving company growth, UCB's transformation into a biopharma company is complete. UCB is now entering an important new phase of revenue growth with no major patent expiry expected until the end of the decade.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced it has entered into a three-year collaboration agreement with Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LSE: RBL) for several of its over-the-counter medicines currently sold across Latin America, primarily in Mexico and Brazil.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) generated sales of €8,526 million, an increase of 0.2% on a reported basis. Exchange rate movements had a positive effect of 1.9 percentage points primarily reflecting the appreciation of the U.S. dollar and, to a lesser extent, the appreciation of the Chinese Yuan, Mexican Peso, Australian dollar and British Pound against the Euro.

Novo Nordisk has announced that sales increased by 18% to 78.0 billion in Danish kroner and by 12% in local currencies. Reported operating profit increased by 32% to DKK 29.5 billion including a 1.7 percentage points improvement in the gross margin. Measured in local currencies, operating profit increased by 20%.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) delivered a strong performance in 2012, with Group sales rising 4% to 45.5 billion Swiss francs due to growing demand for its cancer medicines and increased sales of diagnostic tests to clinical laboratories. This solid sales growth, along with productivity improvements, resulted in a double-digit increase in core operating profit and core earnings per share (EPS), as well as improved profitability.

AstraZeneca's revenue in the fourth quarter was down 15 percent at constant exchange rates (CER) and declined by 16 percent on an actual basis as a result of the negative impact of exchange rate movements. Loss of exclusivity on several key brands accounted for the revenue decline.

Responding to a news article in The Guardian on UK legal proceedings related to our type 2 diabetes medicine Avandia (rosiglitazone), we would like to make the following points: We have every sympathy for people with health complications associated with diabetes and those who care for them. However, respecting the UK court process, we are unable to comment on ongoing legal cases.