Group sales rose 6% to 11.6 billion Swiss francs as demand for Roche's cancer medicines and clinical laboratory products grew strongly in the first three months of the year. Higher sales of Tamiflu due to a severe flu season in North America also supported Roche's performance in the first quarter.

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) today announced positive results for the REVIVE study, a double-blind randomized study of Brintellix™ (vortioxetine) versus agomelatine in adults with major depression (MDD) who changed antidepressant treatment after an inadequate response to SSRI or SNRI treatment.

Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo: 4503, "Astellas") entered into a collaboration with Ambrx Inc. ("Ambrx") for the discovery and development of novel antibody drug conjugates ("ADCs"). ADCs allow for the targeted delivery of drugs to the target tissue. Ambrx creates optimized ADCs using its site-specific conjugation technology along with proprietary linkers and payloads.

AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development unit, has acquired AlphaCore Pharma, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based biotechnology company focused on the development of ACP-501, a recombinant human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme.

A decision issued by the Indian Supreme Court regarding the Novartis breakthrough medicine Glivec® (imatinib mesylate) provides clarification on Indian patent law and discourages innovative drug discovery essential to advancing medical science for patients.

A new perspective from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published in the New England Journal of Medicine(1) states that the agency has not changed its recommendations regarding Pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate), following the November 2012 Mini-Sentinel evaluations.(2)

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka) today announced a license and development agreement for Lu AE58054, a selective 5HT6 receptor antagonist currently in development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.