Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan for the treatment of women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.(1)

Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and MannKind Corporation (Nasdaq: MNKD) have entered into a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement for development and commercialization of Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder, a new rapid-acting inhaled insulin therapy for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Allied Minds (LSE: ALM) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) have announced the formation of Allied-Bristol Life Sciences LLC, a new jointly owned enterprise created to identify and foster research and pre-clinical development of biopharmaceutical innovations from leading university research institutions across the U.S.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has agreed to acquire Santaris Pharma, a privately held biopharmaceutical company based near Copenhagen, Denmark. Santaris Pharma has pioneered its proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) platform that has contributed to an emerging era of RNA-targeting therapeutics.

Pfizer Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Baxter International Inc.'s portfolio of marketed vaccines for $635 million. As part of the transaction, Pfizer will also acquire a portion of Baxter's facility in Orth, Austria, where these vaccines are manufactured.

AstraZeneca today announced that it has entered an agreement to transfer to the company the rights to Almirall's respiratory franchise for an initial consideration of $875 million on completion, and up to $1.22 billion in development, launch, and sales-related milestones. AstraZeneca has also agreed to make various sales-related payments.

The Bayer Group was again successful in the second quarter of 2014. Sales of the Bayer Group rose by 0.9 percent in the second quarter of 2014 to EUR 10,458 million (Q2 2013: EUR 10,360 million). Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects (Fx & portfolio adj.), sales advanced by 6.3 percent.