Boehringer Ingelheim once again certified as a family-friendly company
Boehringer Ingelheim has been helping its employees to achieve a healthy work/life balance for many years. The pharmaceutical company has now received another award from the berufundfamilie® ("work and family") initiative of the Hertie Foundation for its family-friendly commitment. Dr Hermann Kues, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and Peter Hintze, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, presented the "work and family" audit certificate to Boehringer Ingelheim in Berlin. The company has already been certified for its family-friendly commitment since 2005. 
Merck and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad, India, announced today a partnership to co-develop a portfolio of biosimilar compounds in oncology, primarily focused on monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The partnership covers co-development, manufacturing and commercialization of the compounds around the globe, with some specific country exceptions. The Merck Serono and Dr. Reddy's partnership marks the first step by Merck to enter the biosimilar space. The Merck Serono division began exploring the opportunity last year to assess how it could capitalize on its expertise in biopharmaceuticals and its growing presence in key markets including select Emerging Markets. 
Bayer HealthCare and Covance Inc. have decided to establish a long-term strategic partnership in the area of clinical drug development including R&D services related to Phase II-IV clinical studies and central laboratory services. The new strategic partnership marks a next level of the broad-based cooperation both partners have developed over the past years and represents the efforts to maximize its benefits across the Bayer HealthCare organization. Bayer's goal is to better leverage Covance's broad range of experience and services across the R&D portfolio to attain best in class operational delivery, efficiency and quality whilst also delivering significant financial benefits to both organizations. 
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced they have received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) medicinal committee recommending approval of Jentadueto® (linagliptin/metformin hydrochloride) tablets, a medicine combining the DPP-4 inhibitor, linagliptin (the active ingredient in Tradjenta® tablets, marketed under the trade name Trajenta® in Europe) and metformin in a single tablet taken twice daily. 
Novo Nordisk announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) under the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion on the Company's recombinant factor XIII product (rFXIII). The Committee recommended marketing authorisation for rFXIII for once-monthly replacement therapy in patients from the age of six years with congenital factor XIII A-subunit deficiency. 
AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline welcomed the launch of a pioneering approach to antibiotic research in Europe that will see pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working alongside public partners to tackle the rising threat from antibiotic resistance and address some of the key barriers to the development of effective antibiotics. The objective of the proposed research programme is to improve the underlying scientific understanding of antibiotic resistance, design and implement efficient clinical trials and take novel drug candidates through clinical development.