The Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) international initiative and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the launch of the LIBERATE™ joint pain management programme during the BJD's World Conference in Lund, Sweden.

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) today announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement under which Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) will acquire Genzyme Genetics for $925 million in cash.

New Phase III data presented by Novartis Vaccines indicate that the investigational Multicomponent Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (4CMenB) has the potential to be the first broad-coverage vaccine against the dynamic and deadly meningococcal B (MenB) disease.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has been named Supersector Leader in Healthcare in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) for the second year running. This top ranking among the world's leading sustainability-driven healthcare companies is a reflection of Roche's commitment to its employees, communities and the environment, and positions Roche as a global leader in the management of sustainable business practices.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) is commencing today, through its wholly owned subsidiary Zeus Acquisition Corporation, a cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGEN).

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the expansion of its Human Genetic Therapies pipeline through the exclusive license, in markets outside of North America, for the activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB) class of molecules being developed by Acceleron Pharma Inc., a private biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two supplemental new drug applications (sNDA's) for SAPHRIS® (asenapine) sublingual tablets to expand the product's indications.