Bayer has completed the acquisition of the consumer care business of the U.S. pharmaceuticals group Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. The transaction closed on October 1, 2014, following receipt of required antitrust approvals.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Kyowa Hakko Kirin (Tokyo:4151), have entered into an agreement to explore the therapeutic potential of the combination of Pfizer's PF-05082566, an investigational, fully humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) that stimulates signaling through 4-1BB (CD-137), a protein involved in regulation of immune cell activation, proliferation and survival, with Kyowa Hakko Kirin's anti-CCR4 antibody mogamulizumab,

Novo Nordisk has announced that the company will establish a new obesity research unit in Seattle, Washington, in the US. The new unit is a result of Novo Nordisk's increasing focus on treatment of obesity. Its main task will be to identify novel approaches and targets for obesity treatments while increasing the scientific understanding of existing obesity targets.

AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, and Cancer Research UK, with its commercial arm, Cancer Research Technology (CRT), have entered into an innovative collaboration to establish a joint laboratory in Cambridge, UK.

Boehringer Ingelheim and CureVac, leader in mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid)-based drug development, have announced an exclusive global license and development collaboration. The new collaboration focuses on CureVac's CV9202, a novel investigational therapeutic mRNA vaccine, in early clinical development for the treatment of lung cancer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced charitable donations totaling more than $1 million to be granted between 2014 and 2016 to seven nonprofit organizations that support patients with cardiovascular disease.

Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in the pharmaceutical, chemical and life science sectors, and Sigma-Aldrich today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck will acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17.0 billion (€13.1 billion), establishing one of the leading players in the $130 billion global life science industry.