Following the recent commercial introduction of five new drugs to address the medical needs of patients with various diseases, Bayer is now accelerating the development of further five promising drug candidates which are currently undergoing phase I and II clinical studies. The company plans to progress these five new highly innovative drug candidates in the areas of oncology, cardiology, and women's health into phase III clinical studies by 2015.

Anticoagulants are an indispensable treatment to prevent dangerous blood clots that can cause devastating ischaemic strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation or life-threatening pulmonary embolism in patients with venous thromboembolism.(1,2) An increased risk of bleeding is a known possible complication of all anticoagulant therapies.(3)

Novartis announced results from the head-to-head Phase III FIXTURE study showing secukinumab (AIN457), an interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor, was significantly superior to Enbrel®* (etanercept) in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis[1]. Enbrel is a current standard-of-care anti-TNF medication approved to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

The International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS) and Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC) have announced their collaboration on a new grant opportunity focused on improving care for patients around the world with medium or high levels of cardiovascular risk, with a particular focus on dyslipidemia.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has successfully completed its previously announced tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX) for $125 per share in cash. As announced on Aug. 25, the purchase price is $9.7 billion net of estimated Onyx cash.

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) jointly announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Brintellix™ (vortioxetine) for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), a debilitating mental health illness affecting approximately 14 million adult Americans in a given year[1].

Olivier Brandicourt (57) has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer HealthCare and member of the Bayer AG Executive Council effective November 1, 2013. Since March 2013, Professor Wolfgang Plischke has led Bayer HealthCare on an interim basis in addition to his existing duties as a Bayer AG Board Member.