Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that following the results of a regular safety review of the aleglitazar AleCardio phase III trial, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has recommended to halt the trial due to safety signals and lack of efficacy. Based on this recommendation, Roche has decided to terminate the AleCardio trial and all other trials involving aleglitazar.

AstraZeneca today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK for a two-year collaboration on three pre-clinical and clinical oncology projects. This agreement with world-leading medical research institutions based in Cambridge, UK, aims to advance cancer research through the study of tumour mutations and new investigational therapies in prostate, pancreatic and potentially other cancers.

Novartis today announced that it has entered into a development and licensing agreement with Biological E Limited (BioE), a biopharmaceutical company based in India, for two vaccines to protect against typhoid and paratyphoid fevers. The agreement advances the Novartis goal to deliver accessible and affordable vaccines that address unmet medical need in endemic regions.

GSK and Save the Children have launched a $1 million Healthcare Innovation Award to identify and reward innovations in healthcare which have proven successful in reducing child deaths in developing countries. From the 27th June - 26th August, organisations from across the developing world can nominate examples of innovative healthcare approaches they have discovered or implemented.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company have announced results from a new analysis of Phase III data demonstrating that treatment with the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor linagliptin is not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), versus a number of comparators (placebo, glimepiride and voglibose).

AstraZeneca announced that its new UK-based global research and development centre and corporate headquarters will be located at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus on the southern outskirts of the city. By 2016, the new site will house a highly-skilled workforce of approximately 2,000.

AstraZeneca announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, and NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. have entered into an exclusive agreement to discover, develop and commercialise novel therapeutics from NGM's enteroendocrine cell (EEC) programme for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.