Roche and the Lucerne Festival are renewing their partnership in the Roche Commissions cultural programme. Since the programme was launched in 2003 Roche has commissioned an orchestral work from a renowned composer. Since 2006 the programme has taken place in a two-year cycle.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), an eye condition in people with diabetes that causes blurred vision, severe vision loss and sometimes blindness.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) has reached agreement to divest the majority of its “Classic Brands” (25 non-promoted and genericised products) in Australia to Aspen Global Incorporated (Aspen) for approximately £172 million in cash.

The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has grown again in the current financial year. In the first half of 2012, currency-adjusted sales increased by 6.8% compared with the previous year to €7.1 billion.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that it has entered into an agreement with AstraZeneca for the over-the-counter (OTC) rights for NEXIUM (esomeprazole magnesium), a leading prescription drug currently approved to treat the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that the phase III AVAglio study of Avastin plus radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy in people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma met its co-primary endpoint of a significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS).

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) announced that following the successful completion of the acquisition of Amylin Pharmaceuticals by Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca has made an initial payment of approximately $3.2 billion to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb.