Novartis announced a USD 1 billion investment over the next five years, increasing R&D activities in China and confirming Novartis' long term commitment to China's further economic development, health reform and improving the health care of the Chinese people. The Novartis investment will include a significant expansion of The Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research (CNIBR) in Shanghai.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) announced the initiation of CONTACT and CONSTELLATION, two Phase 3 trials of the investigational drug dimebon (latrepirdine)* in patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has completed its acquisition of Evalve, Inc., the global leader in the development of devices for minimally invasive repair of mitral valves. The acquisition provides Abbott with a leading presence in the growing area of non-surgical treatment for structural heart disease.

In the third quarter of 2009, sanofi-aventis generated net sales of €7,400 million, up 8.0% on a reported basis. Exchange rate movements had a favorable effect of 2.0 percentage points, with the appreciation of the U.S. dollar (and to a lesser extent the yen) against the euro more than offsetting the unfavorable effects of some other currencies.

In a speech to the City Club of San Diego, John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), said that the engine of biopharmaceutical innovation is "broken." He offered a vision for biopharmaceutical companies to "reinvent innovation" to make the most of today's wealth of scientific knowledge to benefit patients and address unmet medical needs.

Novartis has shipped over 7.5 million doses of Influenza A(H1N1)[1] vaccine ready to use and expects 25 to 30 million doses of unadjuvanted vaccine to become available in pre-filled syringes and multi-dose vials by the end of November. Smaller changes in delivery timelines and volumes can result out of the variability of the underlying biological production process. The deliveries are in line with commitments made to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

H. Lundbeck A/S strengthens its pipeline of pharmaceuticals in clinical development by initiating phase I clinical studies with Lu 02-750 in order to investigate safety, tolerability and the pharmacokinetic profile of the drug in humans. The placebo-controlled study is expected to enrol around 100 healthy individuals.