Novartis announced today that it is broadening its portfolio of cancer immunotherapies with the acquisition of Admune Therapeutics and licensing agreements with Palobiofarma and XOMA Corporation. With four candidates currently in clinical trials and five more agents expected to enter the clinic by the end of 2016,

Today, Novartis announced the launch of Novartis Access in Kenya, the first country to benefit from a portfolio of 15 affordable medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer. The Novartis portfolio is being offered to the Kenyan government, non-governmental organizations and other public-sector healthcare providers for USD 1 per treatment, per month.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the relaunch of its brand identity. The fundamental revision of the visual appearance as well as the introduction of a new logo reflect the transformation into a global science and technology company. At the same time, the brand architecture at business level has been simplified. Outside the United States and Canada, the company will operate uniformly as Merck.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) injection, for intravenous use, for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR mutation or ALK translocation should have disease progression on appropriate targeted therapy prior to receiving Opdivo.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has announced data from three positive, pivotal Phase III studies of ocrelizumab in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Data from two identical studies (called OPERA I and OPERA II) in people with relapsing MS, which affects approximately 85 percent of people with MS at the time of diagnosis, showed ocrelizumab was superior to interferon beta-1a (Rebif®), a well-established MS therapy, in reducing the three major markers of disease activity over the two-year controlled treatment period.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has announced the completion of the divestiture of its Cordis business to Cardinal Health for an approximate value of $2 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The Cordis business is a global leader in the development and manufacture of interventional vascular technology and generated net revenues of approximately $780 million in 2014.

Novartis announced today a new analysis from the phase III FREEDOMS and FREEDOMS II trials reinforcing the long-term efficacy profile of Gilenya® (fingolimod). The analysis evaluated the proportion of Gilenya patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) achieving 'no evidence of disease activity' (NEDA-4) every year over seven years[1].