Clinical laboratory professionals worldwide are coming together in support of an initiative to raise international awareness of the role played by clinical laboratory professionals in health care and their vital contribution to improve patient outcomes. Through a program called Labs Are Vital(TM), sponsored by Abbott (NYSE: ABT), the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) and its 76 national societies are working together to elevate the role of laboratory professionals and to address issues facing the profession globally.

Pfizer announced that Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg showed unexpectedly potent reduction in myocardial ischemia (a condition defined by insufficient blood supply and oxygen to the heart) in patients with chronic stable angina (chest pain). These results were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) announced that Explorer Acquisition Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer, has purchased all of the shares validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to its tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ENCY) at a purchase price of $2.35 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest thereon and less any required withholding taxes.

Rasilez® (aliskiren), the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor, has shown clinically meaningful reductions in left ventricular hypertrophy, a proven predictor of heart disease, that are comparable to those seen with the current standard-of-care treatment[1].

Bayer filed a Notice of Appeal in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Bayer is appealing from a March 3, 2008 opinion and order in which District Judge Peter G. Sheridan held that certain patent claims of Bayer Schering's U.S. Patent No. 6,787,531 for the company's oral contraceptive Yasmin (drospirenone 3 mg and ethinyl estradiol 0.03mg) were invalid because they would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art.

AstraZeneca today announced it has decided to stop the CRESTOR JUPITER clinical study early based on a recommendation from an Independent Data Monitoring Board and the JUPITER Steering Committee, which met on March 29, 2008. The study will be stopped early because there is unequivocal evidence of a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality amongst patients who received CRESTOR when compared to placebo.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation of the novel, oral direct thrombin inhibitor, Pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate) in all 27 EU member states. It is anticipated that Pradaxa® will be launched in Germany and the United Kingdom in the coming weeks.