Rasilez® (aliskiren), the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor, has shown clinically meaningful reductions in left ventricular hypertrophy, a proven predictor of heart disease, that are comparable to those seen with the current standard-of-care treatment[1].

Bayer filed a Notice of Appeal in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Bayer is appealing from a March 3, 2008 opinion and order in which District Judge Peter G. Sheridan held that certain patent claims of Bayer Schering's U.S. Patent No. 6,787,531 for the company's oral contraceptive Yasmin (drospirenone 3 mg and ethinyl estradiol 0.03mg) were invalid because they would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art.

AstraZeneca today announced it has decided to stop the CRESTOR JUPITER clinical study early based on a recommendation from an Independent Data Monitoring Board and the JUPITER Steering Committee, which met on March 29, 2008. The study will be stopped early because there is unequivocal evidence of a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality amongst patients who received CRESTOR when compared to placebo.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation of the novel, oral direct thrombin inhibitor, Pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate) in all 27 EU member states. It is anticipated that Pradaxa® will be launched in Germany and the United Kingdom in the coming weeks.

At the 23rd Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress, results were presented which added evidence that Levitra® (vardenafil HCI) works very well in men with dyslipidemia.[1] The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in about 400 men showed that Levitra® significantly improved the ability of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and high cholesterol, to achieve and maintain an erection for successful sexual intercourse.[2]

Aurobindo Pharma announced that it has recently concluded a strategic deal, for acquisition of Intellectual Property & Marketing Authorizations, with TAD Italy, a generic company registered in Italy. This acquisition will give Aurobindo an access to more than 70 ready to market products which will fast track Aurobindo's entry into the Italian generic market.

GlaxoSmithKline reported its 2007 global giving to charitable initiatives totalled £282 million, equivalent to almost 4% of pre-tax profits for the company (with the FTSE 100 average around 1%). Donations of albendazole treatments for the company's flagship programme to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (commonly known as elephantiasis) were valued at £14 million, bringing the total number of treatments given since GSK made its commitment 10 years ago to almost 750 million.