GlaxoSmithKline (GSK plc) announced that the European Commission has granted a marketing authorisation for its H5N1 adjuvanted pre-pandemic vaccine, Prepandrix™, in all 27 EU member states. GSK is the first company to obtain a European licence for a pre-pandemic vaccine, thereby offering European governments the potential for protecting their population in advance or at the onset of an officially declared influenza pandemic.

Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets significantly improved overall survival by 47.3 percent (HR=0.68; p-value=0.014) in patients in the Asia-Pacific region with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer, versus those receiving placebo.

Pfizer announced that it has posted a list of U.S. medical, scientific and patient organization grants and charitable contributions made in the first quarter of this year, part of an ongoing drive throughout the company to increase transparency.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), in collaboration with the Breast International Group (BIG), a leading academic breast cancer research network, and one of its member groups, the Spanish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group (SOLTI), announced the start of a global Phase III study that will examine the role of lapatinib (Tykerb®/Tyverb®)in the treatment of early breast cancer (EBC).

Data announced at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) annual clinical meeting suggest that up to one in ten women are suffering from a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) with only a third of these seeking advice or help from their healthcare professional.[1]

Roche announced that Actemra (tocilizumab) can significantly inhibit structura[1] damage to joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a critical measure of effectiveness of an RA treatment. Actemra also improved the patients' physical function after one year of therapy, leading to a better quality of life.

Bayer HealthCare AG and development partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) announced that the first patient has been dosed in the new VIEW 2 trial, a second Phase 3 clinical study in a development program evaluating VEGF Trap-Eye for the treatment of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), a leading cause of blindness in adults.