Novartis announced today that it will further expand its long-standing partnership with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). Novartis will lead the development of antimalarial compound KAF156 with scientific and financial support from MMV in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with HAPPYneuron, a subsidiary of SBT Group of France, in which Merck will receive an exclusive license to the company's cognitive remediation training program for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Merck, a leading science and technology company, has started this week the application period for the next round of its Accelerator programs in Darmstadt, Germany, and Nairobi, Kenya. Globally, Merck is seeking young start-ups in the fields of healthcare, life science and performance materials with a focus on digital solutions.

AstraZeneca today announced it has entered into a commercialisation agreement with Aspen Global Incorporated (AGI), part of the Aspen Group, for rights to its global anaesthetics portfolio outside the US. The agreement covers seven established medicines - Diprivan (general anaesthesia), EMLA (topical anaesthetic) and five local anaesthetics (Xylocaine/Xylocard/Xyloproct, Marcaine, Naropin, Carbocaine and Citanest).

Applications for the Bayer Science & Education Foundation's international scholarship programs are now being accepted for this year's round. In the academic sector, ambitious students can apply for an Otto Bayer, Carl Duisberg, Jeff Schell, or Kurt Hansen scholarship if they are aiming to undertake a study project abroad or from foreign countries planning a project in Germany.

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced it has established a research collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute's - Harvard Fibrosis Network to discover new ways of treating fibrotic diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced survey results of 250 global biopharmaceutical executives on how their companies will manage new risks associated with the changing biopharma landscape. The survey, sponsored by Merck, was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis.