A new initiative announced at the United Nations headquarters in New York by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg shall make a safe and effective long-acting and reversible method available to more than 27 million women in the world's poorest nations.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced that Absorb(TM), the world's first drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS), is now widely available across Europe and parts of Asia Pacific and Latin America. Absorb is a first-of-its-kind device for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD).

As the first multinational company to open a research centre in China in 1997, Novo Nordisk now reaffirms its long-term commitment to the country by investing an additional 100 million US dollars to expand its state-of-the-art science facilities in Beijing.

Vanderbilt University and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) have signed a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies acting on the mGluR4 glutamate receptor, known as positive allosteric modulators or PAMs, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Novo Nordisk was just ranked number four on the Science 2012 Top Employer list - up from ninth place last year. The company's 'social responsibility', 'respect for employees' and ability to inspire 'loyalty among its employees' were cited as key drivers of this impressive global ranking.

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the beta launch of its first social game on Facebook, called Syrum. Syrum will be a new and evolving platform for the research-driven pharmaceutical company to inspire and educate in a changing digital world.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has been recognised as the most sustainable healthcare company globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), for the fourth year in a row. The DJSI World and DJSI Europe Indexes track the performance of the leading sustainability companies based on best-in-class approach in environmental, social and economic performance.