Pets spend their whole lives at their owners' sides, keeping them active and comforting them in times of illness or loneliness. A study conducted by research organization IPSOS on behalf of Boehringer Ingelheim recently confirmed what many pet owners have long suspected: Dogs, cats and other pets have a positive impact on health and well-being.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) in combination with Abraxane® [albumin-bound paclitaxel; nab-paclitaxel]) and carboplatin for the initial (first-line) treatment of people with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who do not have EGFR or ALK genomic tumour aberrations.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) announced strong support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee (BRUDAC) for the approval of EVENITY™* (romosozumab) for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture after reviewing safety and efficacy data from the pivotal Phase 3 studies.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the ten startups that will be joining the seventh intake of its Accelerator program at the Merck Innovation Center in Darmstadt. The teams come from nine different countries, making 2019 the most international intake in the Merck Accelerator's history. They were chosen from a total of 565 applications, coming from startups based in 68 countries across the world.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that it has exercised its option to purchase Cephea Valve Technologies, Inc., a privately held medical device company developing a less-invasive heart valve replacement technology for people with mitral valve disease. Financial terms were not disclosed. Abbott provided capital and secured an option to purchase Cephea in 2015.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that the European Commission has approved the combination of Opdivo (nivolumab) 3 mg/kg plus Yervoy (ipilimumab) 1 mg/kg ("low-dose") for the first-line treatment of patients with intermediate- and poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for filing the company's New Drug Applications (NDAs) for tafamidis for the treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Pfizer has submitted two NDAs based on two forms of tafamidis: meglumine salt and free acid.