Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the outstanding equity of Evalve, Inc., the global leader in the development of devices for minimally invasive repair of cardiac mitral valves. The acquisition provides Abbott with a presence in the growing area of non-surgical treatment for structural heart disease, in which physicians use catheter-based devices to repair or replace basic structural components of the heart such as mitral and aortic valves.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted that clinical data support both the efficacy and safety of CERVARIX®, the company's candidate cervical cancer vaccine (12-1 and 11-1, respectively).

For people living with painful conditions, September is a time for their true stories of triumph to emerge. Helping to foster support and communication, National Pain Awareness Month allows people with painful conditions to educate others about their experiences, build connections and together fight their pain.

For the fourth consecutive year, Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has been named one of the "50 Best Places to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek magazine. The list highlights companies that excel at offering a superior workplace for entry-level employees. This year, Abbott moved up to No. 13, and was once again the top-ranked health care company on the list.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT : SAN and NYSE : SNY), announced that Shantha Biotechnics was awarded contracts by a United Nations agency for supplies of pentavalent vaccine SHAN5™ (combination vaccine of Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Haemophilus influenza B, and Hepatitis B). The contracts, worth $340 million, cover the period 2010-2012.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has been rated as the new Super Sector Leader in Healthcare on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, placing Roche as the most sustainable healthcare company worldwide.

A pilot trial of Novartis adjuvanted cell culture-based A(H1N1) vaccine[1] indicates that the "swine flu" vaccine elicited a strong immune response and was well tolerated. The trial was run by the UK's University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester.