Novartis has completed an agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG (Bayer Schering) related to various rights for the multiple sclerosis treatment Betaseron®[1] (interferon beta-1b) and has received a one-time payment of approximately USD 200 million.

The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Company's new drug application (NDA) for Cleviprex(TM) (clevidipine butyrate injectable emulsion) for the treatment of acute hypertension. If approved, Cleviprex will be the first new treatment for acute hypertension in more than 10 years.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of NovaCardia, Inc., a privately held clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on cardiovascular disease. This acquisition adds rolofylline (KW-3902), NovaCardia's investigational Phase III compound for acute heart failure to Merck's pipeline.

Today, the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a meeting to discuss the risk /benefit profile of Trasylol® (aprotinin injection), a Bayer drug used in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Sanofi-aventis announced a civil settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve "Average Wholesale Price" (AWP) lawsuits under the federal False Claims Act relating to Anzemet® involving one of its predecessor companies, Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (API).

Pfizer announced the initiation of a large, global Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sunitinib malate, in combination with erlotinib, in previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, preliminary results from a Phase II study, presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference in Seoul, Korea, provided information on the safety and tolerability of sunitinib in combination with erlotinib in patients with advanced NSCLC.

ImClone Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMCL) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that a Phase III study of ERBITUX® (Cetuximab) in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy (vinorelbine plus cisplatin) met its primary endpoint of increasing overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).