PLIVA d.d. (ZSE: PLVA-R-A), a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Barr"), today reported financial results for the six month period ended 30 June 2008, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Nycomed agreed with Bayer Schering Pharma on the sale of the preclinical anti-cancer program. The agreement is part of Nycomed's strategic decision not to further invest in oncology R&D activities. As the final step in the divestment of its Oncology portfolio, Nycomed agreed with Bayer Schering Pharma on the sale of a kinase inhibitor program, targeting a key growth and survival pathway in cancer.

Pfizer Inc announced that, in patients with heart disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg significantly reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, by 35 percent compared with Lipitor 10 mg.

After careful consideration of the feasibility of meeting the enrolment targets for the SPRING (Safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of tipranavir boosted with low dose ritonavir (500mg/200mg) twice daily in 400 racially and gender diverse HIV-positive treatment-experienced population) and TICINO (safety and efficacy of tipranavir/ritonavir in treatment-experienced patients also infected with the hepatitis B or hepatitis C viruses) trials, Boehringer Ingelheim has terminated both studies.

Novo Nordisk has suspended one of its employees after the employee yesterday was charged by the Danish Public Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime with unlawful insider trading in the company's shares.

Roche announced that the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a near unanimous (10-1) vote recommended approval of Actemra (tocilizumab), a novel interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody, for reducing the signs and symptoms in adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

New data show that Exforge, a single-pill combination of the world's leading high blood pressure medicines Diovan® (valsartan) and amlodipine, gets nearly twice as many patients with high baseline blood pressure to a healthier blood pressure goal compared to amlodipine alone[1].