Bayer Schering Pharma announced that data from more than 30 clinical trials evaluating three products in the company's oncology portfolio - Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets, regorafenib (BAY 73-4506) and Alpharadin™ - will be presented at the joint 15th European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and 34th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Multidisciplinary Congress, September 20-24, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for licensure of its Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine.

Novartis has announced results from Phase III trials showing QAB149 (indacaterol), an investigational once-daily bronchodilator for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), significantly improves lung function[3] and provides a significant reduction in breathlessness[1] compared to tiotropium, a current treatment option.

Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) has announced that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Massachusetts District Court's decision that Roche's peg-EPO product, Mircera, infringes four Amgen patents ('868, '698, '933 and '422) relating to recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) and processes for making it.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) has unveiled a new operating model and announced a series of changes to speed medicines from its pipeline to patients. To help achieve this goal, the company will establish a Development Center of Excellence to streamline and accelerate late-stage development of new medicines, and will reorganize its pharmaceutical business into four business units that will operate alongside the Elanco animal health business unit.

Tamiflu (oseltamivir) demonstrated significantly improved survival rates in patients with the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza (avian flu) and severe cases of seasonal influenza, according to two new studies presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.(1,2)

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved its XIENCE V(R) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) - the leading cause of death in China.