Merck, a leading science and technology company, will celebrate its 350th anniversary this year with customers, partners and employees under the motto "Past. Present. Future." In 1668, the pharmacist Friedrich Jacob Merck laid the cornerstone for what Merck is today - a vibrant, global science and technology company.

In 2017, Group sales rose 5% to CHF 53.3 billion. Core operating profit grew 3% and Core EPS increased 5%, reflecting the good underlying business performance. On an IFRS basis net income decreased 9% at CER. The IFRS result includes charges for the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets and the amortisation of intangible assets.

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) announced that Advanced Accelerator Applications, a subsidiary of Novartis Groupe S.A., has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its new drug application (NDA) for Lutathera® (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate*) for the treatment of somatostatin receptor positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including foregut, midgut, and hindgut neuroendocrine tumors, in adults.

Sanofi and Ablynx, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, entered into a definitive agreement under which Sanofi will offer to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares, including shares represented by American Depositary Shares (ADSs), warrants and convertible bonds of Ablynx at a price per Ablynx share of €45 in cash, which represents an aggregate equity value of approximately €3.9 billion.

Pfizer Inc. has announced that REFLECTIONS B3281006, a comparative safety and efficacy study of PF-05280586 versus MabThera® (rituximab-EU), met its primary endpoint. PF-05280586 is being developed by Pfizer as a potential biosimilar to Rituxan® (rituximab-US) / MabThera® (1). The trial demonstrated equivalence in overall response rate (ORR) for the first-line treatment of patients with CD20-positive, low tumor burden, follicular lymphoma.

AstraZeneca has been recognised for its commitment to sustainability with two new, global accolades: the company has been listed as one of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world by Corporate Knights, the Toronto-based media and investment advisory firm, and has been commended for its use of renewable energy, as one of 122 multinational businesses who have made the RE100 commitment, by The Climate Group, an international non-profit organisation focused on accelerating climate action.

Novartis today announced positive results from the Phase IIIb LIBERTY study assessing the efficacy and safety of erenumab (AMG 334) 140mg in patients with episodic migraine who had experienced two to four previous preventive treatment failures, due to lack of efficacy or intolerable side effects.