Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that it has acquired IOmet, a privately-held UK-based drug discovery company focused on the development of innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer, with a particular emphasis on the fields of cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism.

Bayer will halve the price of its contraceptive implant Jadelle until 2023 for women living in poor countries around the world. According to the Reproductive Health Supply Coalition the demand for implants is increasing continuously in these countries.

Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi, today announced the recipients of the fifth annual Patient Advocacy Leadership (PAL) awards. The global grant program supports projects by non-profit organizations that serve patients living with lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), a group of rare, inherited disorders that can cause progressive and debilitating health problems.

Novartis announced today a collaboration with Qualcomm Incorporated through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Life, Inc., in digital innovation with the Breezhaler(TM) inhaler device to treat COPD. Under this collaboration, Qualcomm Life will provide the technology solution for the connectivity of the next generation of the Breezhaler(TM) inhaler,

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Pfizer and Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to evaluate avelumab*, an investigational fully human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with Syndax's entinostat, an investigational oral small molecule that targets immune regulatory cells (myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T-cells), in patients with heavily pre-treated, recurrent ovarian cancer.

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for its novel, 3rd-generation, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), BI 1482694* (HM61713**).

Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture (JV) to discover, develop and commercialize new breakthrough therapeutics to cure blood disorders, blindness, and congenital heart disease.