Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN, NYSE: SNY) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the companies an additional six-month period of exclusivity to market PLAVIX® (clopidogrel bisulfate).

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the start of two global Phase III studies in advanced or metastatic melanoma patients with a BRAF V600 mutation. The studies will separately assess the efficacy and safety of two investigational agents, GSK2118436 and GSK1120212,

AstraZeneca has replied to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Complete Response Letter (CRL) received for the ticagrelor (BRILINTA) New Drug Application (NDA) on 16 December 2010.

Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced that it will build an additional manufacturing plant in Geel, Belgium, to support the long-term growth of Myozyme® and Lumizyme® for Pompe disease. The company held a ceremony in Geel to mark the start of construction of the new €250 million plant,

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) announced the advancement of zicronapine into clinical phase III based on the positive clinical phase II data. The first study in the clinical phase III programme is expected to enrol some 160 patients with the aim to measure the efficacy of zicronapine and risperidone and their relative impact on key metabolic parameters.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that BRIM3, a Phase III clinical study of RG7204 (PLX4032), met its co-primary endpoints showing a significant survival benefit in people with previously untreated BRAF V600 mutation-positive metastatic melanoma.

Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced initiation of a new Phase III clinical trial in collaboration with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) investigating the efficacy and safety of VEGF Trap-Eye (aflibercept ophthalmic solution) in patients with choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) of the retina as a result of pathologic myopia.