Merck KGaA announced that Group total revenues rose 2.7% in the third quarter to € 1,944 million from € 1,893 million in the year-ago quarter as the Pharmaceuticals divisions continued to grow and the Chemicals divisions continued to recover from the economic crisis. Royalty income declined 9.7% to € 82 million.

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following a thorough administrative review of governing statutory and regulatory standards and public comments, has affirmed its prior decision to grant five-year New Chemical Entity (NCE) exclusivity to lisdexamfetamine dimesylate

Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Wellstat Therapeutics Corporation announced a global licensing agreement on PN2034, a novel oral first-in-class, insulin sensitizer, for the treatment of Type II Diabetes. As a sensitizer, PN2034 is expected to normalize and therefore enhance insulin action in the liver of diabetic patients. The compound is currently in Phase II clinical testing.

Bayer HealthCare AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the companies have begun enrolling patients in an international Phase III trial to evaluate Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with radioactive iodine-refractory, locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer.

Bayer HealthCare AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the companies have begun enrolling patients in an international Phase III trial to evaluate Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with radioactive iodine-refractory, locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb posted third quarter 2009 net sales from continuing operations of $5.5 billion, an increase of 4%, or 7% excluding foreign exchange impact, compared to the same period in 2008.

A long-awaited study presented at the International Diabetes Federation World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, Canada, has shown that it is possible for patients with type 2 diabetes to achieve good blood glucose control with a very low rate of major hypoglycaemia[1] even as they intensify their insulin treatment.