The investigational oral therapy FTY720 (fingolimod) continues to demonstrate sustained benefits in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) after three years of treatment, according to new clinical data presented from an ongoing Phase II study extension[1].

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Regulus Therapeutics LLC (Regulus) announced a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and market novel microRNA-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

In celebration of World Hemophilia Day on April 17th, Bayer HealthCare donates €250,000 to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) and more than 950,000 international units of Kogenate® FS (Antihemophilic Factor [Recombinant]).

Grindeks JSC is expanding its activities in the former soviet republics members of Commonwealth of Independent States by opening new representative office in Uzbekistan. The new representative office will have been cooperating with medicines administrating state authorities, Uzbekistan's companies engaged in pharmaceutical and medicinal products wholesale and retail business, as well as providing drug registration processes and medicaments marketing.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) reported results for the first-quarter 2008. The Company recorded revenues of $11.8 billion, a decrease of 5% compared with $12.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to the March 2007 loss of U.S. exclusivity of Norvasc as well as the January 2008 loss of U.S. exclusivity of Zyrtec, which Pfizer ceased selling in late January 2008. In the first-quarter 2008, Norvasc and Zyrtec revenues decreased by $556 million and $344 million, respectively, compared with the prior-year quarter.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.

• Diluted earnings per share, excluding specified items, were $0.63, reflecting 14.5 percent growth, at the upper end of Abbott's previously announced guidance range of $0.61 to $0.63. Diluted earnings per share under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) were $0.60, up 33.3 percent.

Roche announced that it will acquire Piramed Limited, a privately-owned UK company focusing on therapeutics targeting PI3-kinase (PI3-K). The PI3-K pathway is known to play an important role in disease progression and in resistance to chemotherapeutics in cancer cells.