Nycomed and Merck & Co., Inc. have entered into a co-promotion agreement for Canada and certain European countries for the commercialization of Daxas® (roflumilast), an investigational once-daily tablet for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) reported strong sales and earnings growth for the first quarter of 2010. "Double-digit growth for both sales and earnings per share marks a very positive start to the year for our company," said Lamberto Andreotti, CEO-designate, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

AstraZeneca's revenue in the first quarter increased by 7 percent at CER, but was up 11 percent on an actual basis as a result of the positive impact of exchange rate movements.

Sales of the Bayer Group rose by 5.3 percent in the first quarter to EUR 8,316 million (Q1 2009: EUR 7,895 million). Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects, business grew by 6.2 percent.

Boehringer Ingelheim continued to grow in 2009, increasing its net sales by 9.7% to EUR 12.7 billion (2008: EUR 11.6 billion). This was announced by the company at its Annual Press Conference. Even without taking into account positive currency effects, growth was once again above the average growth for the worldwide pharmaceutical market, at 6.7%.

Diabetes affects more than 23 million people in the United States today and another 54 million people have pre-diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Group sales grew 9% in local currencies (6% in Swiss francs; 15% in US dollars) to 12.2 billion Swiss francs. The Pharmaceuticals Division's sales increased 10% in local currencies (6% in Swiss francs; 15% in US dollars) to 9.7 billion Swiss francs, maintaining its above-market growth.