Avastin (bevacizumab), Roche's innovative anti-cancer drug, was approved today in Europe for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy.

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc (AIM: CEN) and the ERGOMED Group today announced that they have initiated recruitment into a Phase II study of the potential new pain drug CNS 5161. CNS 5161 is being developed under a co-development deal signed in July 2006 between CeNeS and ERGOMED.

AstraZeneca announced today that it will start a Phase III programme for PN400, a new pain product under co-development with POZEN, Inc. The Phase III programme is scheduled to begin in 3Q 2007, with a US submission currently targeted for 1H 2009.

Bayer AG intends to file for delisting of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It is also planned to deregister with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thereby terminate the respective reporting obligations.

Novartis will keep defending its intellectual property rights for the antiviral medicine Famvir®, which has various US patents valid until 2015, after a competitor company launched its own generic version in the United States.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Ablynx, the biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, today jointly announced a major global strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialise up to 10 different Nanobody® therapeutics.

Novartis has completed the sale of its Gerber baby foods business to Nestlé for USD 5.5 billion, the final step in a divestment program to focus the Group's strategy on healthcare with pharmaceuticals at the core.