Merck, a leading science and technology company, joins the global multiple sclerosis (MS) community in recognition of World MS Day, an initiative created by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) to raise awareness of the 2.3 million people worldwide living with this challenging disease. In support of this year’s World MS Day theme, #MyInvisibleMS, Merck is making MS visible through a variety of initiatives aimed at shining a light on the hidden symptoms of MS.

Bayer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for copanlisib (Aliqopa™) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) who have received at least two prior therapies. MZL is an indolent form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (iNHL) and accounts for about 10% of all non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the U.S.

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), along with leading community oncology networks, today announced the launch of Amgen Community Oncology Research Collaborators (ACORC), a new initiative to enhance access by community centers to innovative oncology clinical research. Fewer than one in 20 adult cancer patients in the U.S. have participated in a clinical trial.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that a Phase 3 study to assess the use of LYRICA® (pregabalin) as adjunctive therapy for epilepsy patients 5 to 65 years of age with primary generalized tonic-clonic (PGTC) seizures did not meet its primary endpoint. Treatment with LYRICA did not result in a statistically significant reduction in seizure frequency versus placebo.

APRINOIA Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a pipeline of therapeutics and imaging diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, announces today that it has been awarded are search grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) for the development of alpha-synuclein PET imaging tracers.

New data from Novel START, an open-label trial designed to reflect real-world practice, has demonstrated the effectiveness of Symbicort Turbuhaler (budesonide/formoterol) as a potential anti-inflammatory reliever in mild asthma.(1) These results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine and are being presented at the American Thoracic Society 2019 International Conference.(1)

Novartis announced today that new phase II data for IND/GLY/MF (QVM149), an investigational, once-daily, fixed dose combination asthma treatment containing indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate, delivered with the dose-confirming Breezhaler® inhalation device, was presented at the 2019 annual international congress of the American Thoracic Society (ATS).