Net sales were USD 12.1 billion in the third quarter, as volume growth of 5 percentage points was more than offset by the negative impact of generic competition and pricing. Growth Products contributed USD 4.3 billion or 36% of net sales, up 20% (USD) over the prior-year quarter. Operating income was USD 2.3 billion. Core adjustments amounted to USD 1.1 billion (2015: USD 1.3 billion), broadly in line with the prior-year quarter.

The Merck Accelerator is looking for startups with the potential to reshape entire industries and make people's lives richer. The focus is on startups in the fields of healthcare, life science and performance materials - with a digital perspective. Do you have plans to internationalize your business? Are you ready to get your start-up to the next level?

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has announced that Group sales increased 4% to CHF 37.5 billion. Sales in the Pharmaceuticals Division were up 4% to CHF 29.1 billion, driven by demand for breast cancer medicines Perjeta and Herceptin as well as for Actemra/RoActemra for rheumatoid arthritis.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced an award of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of Pfizer's vaccine candidate against group B Streptococcus(group B strep or GBS) infection, a leading cause of neonatal sepsis, a serious life-threatening blood infection.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TECENTRIQ® (atezolizumab) for the treatment of people with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy, and have progressed on an appropriate FDA-approved targeted therapy if their tumour has EGFR or ALK gene abnormalities.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation joins the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative through its commitment to addressing health disparities in cancer care. In response to the Cancer Moonshot, the Foundation is committing $25 million in new funding to grantee partners to expand the current scope of community-based resources and survivorship support programs to underserved populations in the U.S.

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has announced the launch of Biosimilars Clarified, a new educational website for patients, caregivers and the healthcare community that is designed to provide clear, concise and straightforward information about biosimilar medicines.