At a media roundtable in Brussels, Novo Nordisk presented the Changing Diabetes Barometer, which will measure and share the worldwide progress in the fight against diabetes on an annual basis. The Barometer is a tool that will provide healthcare professionals, patient organisations, politicians, institutions and media with valuable information on how to improve the quality of diabetes care, bring down diabetes-related complications, extend patients' life expectancy and reduce costs.

Pfizer announced that post-stroke or mini-stroke patients treated with Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium) Tablets 80 mg had stabilization or improvement in kidney function. These results were demonstrated in patients with or without chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. This post-hoc analysis of the landmark Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction of Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) study, was presented at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.

Following consultation with the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, and other health authorities, Bayer announced today that it has elected to temporarily suspend worldwide marketing of Trasylol® (aprotinin injection) until final results from the Canadian BART trial can be compiled, received and evaluated.

Novo Nordisk celebrates two milestone anniversaries, which demonstrates the company's long-term commitment to diabetes care and research. The day marks the 75-year anniversary of the Steno Diabetes Center and the 50-year anniversary of the Hagedorn Research Institute.

Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. [Headquarter: Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan, President: Akira Uehara] (hereinafter, Taisho) and Pfizer Inc. [Headquarter: New York, NY, USA, CEO: Jeffrey B. Kindler] (hereinafter, Pfizer) have concluded a letter of intent with regard to TS-032, a new schizophrenia drug candidate discovered by Taisho and currently in the pre-clinical stage. The letter of intent relates to a proposed license agreement regarding rights for development and commercialization of the substance outside Japan.

Tasigna® (nilotinib) has been approved in the US as a new anti-cancer therapy for certain patients with a life-threatening form of leukemia who are resistant or intolerant to prior treatment including Glivec® (imatinib)*, an established treatment standard and a leading Novartis medicine.

Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) today announced the results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, published in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, which demonstrated that nebivolol significantly reduced sitting diastolic and systolic blood pressure used as monotherapy among African-American patients with stage I-II hypertension.