AstraZeneca today announced a strategic joint venture with the Chinese Future Industry Investment Fund (FIIF) to form an equally-owned, stand-alone company in China to discover, develop and commercialise potential new medicines to help meet unmet needs globally, and to bring innovative new medicines to patients in China faster.

Novartis today announced positive results from the FLASH** study examining the safety and efficacy of directly switching chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients from Seretide® (salmeterol/fluticasone) 50/500 mcg to Ultibro® Breezhaler® (indacaterol/glycopyrronium) 110/50 mcg[1]. The study met the primary endpoint demonstrating that switching patients to Ultibro Breezhaler resulted in significantly improved lung function (trough FEV1)[1].

GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and Innoviva, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVA) today announced the filing of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol, 'FF/UMEC/VI') for an expanded indication for the maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction and reduction of exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the launch of opnME.com, a new platform offering free and open access to selected pre-clinical molecules for non-clinical investigation to scientists worldwide. Through opnME.com, molecules for some of the most relevant targets in biomedical research are shared, thereby creating possibilities for further independent and collaborative discovery as well as the identification of novel treatment approaches for patients.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has announced an agreement with Viewics, Inc., a privately held software company focused on laboratory business analytics. Under the agreement, Roche is acquiring all shares of the company. The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close on November 21, 2017.

Novartis, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) will work together to devise a common approach to improve access to cancer treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Each partner brings unique expertise in cancer diagnosis and treatment. This complements the work the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is doing to improve access to affordable, quality-approved oncology medicines in the region.

Bayer has entered into an exclusive global collaboration with Loxo Oncology, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in Stamford, Connecticut, US, (NASDAQ: LOXO) for the development and commercialization of larotrectinib (LOXO-101) and LOXO-195. Both compounds are being investigated in global studies for the treatment of patients with cancers harboring tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) gene fusions,