The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is proud to announce a $500,000 gift from the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Foundation. The donation will greatly enhance the GlaxoSmithKline Hope for Families Fund, an endowment fund which was established in 2008 with a $1 million gift from The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline, and matched by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

AstraZeneca has announced plans to invest in strategic research and development centres in the UK, the US and Sweden to improve pipeline productivity and to establish the company as a global leader in biopharmaceutical innovation.

Merck today announced a strategic alliance with Nordic Bioscience Clinical Development A/S on Merck's investigational drug sprifermin (recombinant human FGF-18) in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. This agreement underscores Merck's commitment to osteoarthritis research and development.

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) has acquired Premacure AB of Uppsala, Sweden, a privately held biotechnology company developing a protein replacement therapy, currently in Phase II development, for the prevention of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is a rare and potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants and is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood.

In parallel with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions in San Francisco, initial results have been released from a physician educational programme being undertaken to rectify misunderstandings on stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) in China. The programme offered by the ACC and the Chinese Society of Cardiology with the support of Boehringer Ingelheim, is part of wider international educational activities.

Bayer HealthCare has signed a master collaboration agreement with the California-based Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland to research hemoglobin disorders, particularly in the area of sickle cell anemia. The agreement aims to utilize promising research approaches to help identify potential new therapies for the rare blood disease.

Pfizer Inc. announced that the United States Patent & Trademark Office has granted Pfizer a reissue patent (U.S. Patent No. RE44048), covering methods of treating osteoarthritis and other approved conditions with celecoxib, the active ingredient in Celebrex®.