Merck, a leading science and technology company, announced today the new startups participating in its Accelerator programs in Darmstadt, Germany and Nairobi, Kenya. The two program locations accept startups from different fields within Merck's core specialisms: Darmstadt takes startups from the fields of healthcare, life sciences and performance materials, while Nairobi works exclusively on innovations in digital healthcare.

Novartis has announced results of a new post-hoc analysis in a subgroup of patients with reduced ejection fraction heart failure (HFrEF) and diabetes suggesting that Entresto® (sacubitril/valsartan) tablets improved glycemic control, as assessed by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing, compared to ACE-inhibitor enalapril[1].

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that the 27,564-patient Repatha® (evolocumab) cardiovascular outcomes study, FOURIER, established for the first time that maximally reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels with Repatha, beyond what is possible with the current best therapy alone, leads to a further reduction in major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes and coronary revascularizations.

AstraZeneca today announced it has entered a strategic collaboration with Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc, a respiratory biopharmaceutical company, for the development and commercialisation of Tudorza and Duaklir* in the US. Tudorza and Duaklir are inhaled respiratory medicines for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Johnson & Johnson announced that final Phase 1 clinical trial data published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association show that Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies' investigational "prime-boost" Ebola vaccine regimen induced a durable immune response in 100 percent of healthy volunteers one year following vaccination.

LEO Innovation Lab is proud to announce that our CEO Kristian Hart-Hansen has won the eyeforpharma Customer Innovator Award. Kristian has spearheaded the growth of the LEO Innovation Lab since it's conception in 2015 with just six team members, to a thriving incubator of over 80 people and 15 projects today. The lab was established by LEO Pharma as an independent initiative to focus on using digital innovation to help individuals manage chronic skin conditions.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that its shareholders approved all proposals of the Board of Directors at its ordinary Annual General Meeting (AGM). The 855 attending shareholders, representing 86.3% of the total of 160,000,000 shares, approved the Annual Report, the Financial Statements and the Consolidated Financial Statements for 2016.