King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) announced that it has submitted to the Board of Directors of Alpharma Inc. (NYSE: ALO) a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Alpharma for $33.00 per share in cash. The proposal is not conditioned on financing.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the start of a Phase III study with Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets in liver cancer. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is evaluating Nexavar as an adjuvant therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer.

Yesterday, the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ms Ulla Tørnæs handed over a torch to Executive Vice President Lise Kingo, Novo Nordisk, at a ceremony in Copenhagen. With the torch Ms Tørnæs makes a Call to Action to leaders from around the world to help accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3): To empower women and promote gender equality.

At the beginning of August, DAIICHI SANKYO DEUTSCHLAND GmbH is planning to take over most of the sales force for primary-care physicians in Germany used by Merck Pharma GmbH and to integrate them into the existing sales structure. The agreement between the German subsidiary of the third-largest Japanese pharmaceutical group and the Darmstadt-based company will affect about 130 employees.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and PDL BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDLI) announced an agreement for the global development and commercialization of PDL BioPharma's anti-CS1 antibody, elotuzumab, previously known as HuLuc63, currently in Phase I development for multiple myeloma.

In the first six months of 2008, Nycomed’s adjusted EBITDA increased by 4.9% to € 653.7 million compared to € 623.3 million in the first six months of 2007, benefiting from the cost decreasing effects of last year’s restructuring and as a result of the successful integration.

Roche and Meda, an international specialty pharmaceutical company based in Solna (Stockholm), Sweden, have signed an agreement for the sale of four Roche pharmaceutical products to Meda. The world wide product rights for Marcoumar (Anticoagulant), Torem (Loop diuretic), Tilcotil (painful musculoskeletal disorders) and Aurorix (Depression) are being transferred to Meda for a total amount of 120 million Euros.