Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT : SAN and NYSE : SNY), announced that Shantha Biotechnics was awarded contracts by a United Nations agency for supplies of pentavalent vaccine SHAN5™ (combination vaccine of Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Haemophilus influenza B, and Hepatitis B). The contracts, worth $340 million, cover the period 2010-2012.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has been rated as the new Super Sector Leader in Healthcare on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, placing Roche as the most sustainable healthcare company worldwide.

A pilot trial of Novartis adjuvanted cell culture-based A(H1N1) vaccine[1] indicates that the "swine flu" vaccine elicited a strong immune response and was well tolerated. The trial was run by the UK's University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Visiogen, Inc. for $400 million in cash, providing the company with a next-generation accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) technology to address presbyopia for cataract patients.

Intendis GmbH, which is part of Bayer HealthCare, has signed an agreement to acquire two prescription dermatology product lines from SkinMedica, Inc., a dermatology company based in Carlsbad, CA, USA.

Pfizer Inc today announced that it has finalized a previously reported agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle an investigation regarding past off-label promotional practices related to Bextra, which Pfizer voluntarily withdrew from the market in 2005.

For patients with established heart disease who were treated with a statin, 18 novel biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP) did not predict future cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to results of an analysis presented today at the 2009 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain. By contrast, traditional lipid risk factors were strong predictors of cardiovascular events.