Bayer HealthCare Marks 2010 World Hemophilia Day with EUR 250,000 Contribution
To mark World Hemophilia Day, Bayer HealthCare is reaffirming its commitment to the global hemophilia community by pledging EUR 250,000 to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). Bayer employees around the world are organizing local World Hemophilia Day activities to engage and educate people on issues facing the community through events such as sporting competitions, information booths, professional symposia and physical therapy workshops. 
Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and CureDM Group Holdings, LLC, announced today a global license agreement on a novel human peptide, Pancreate™, which could restore a patients' ability to produce insulin and other pancreatic hormones in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Pancreate™ is a bioactive peptide sequence of a naturally occurring human protein that has been shown in preclinical studies to stimulate the growth of new insulin producing islets in the pancreas, resulting in restoration of normal metabolic function and glucose control in the blood. The commencement of Phase I studies is planned for later this year. 
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that its chemotherapy ALIMTA(R) (pemetrexed for injection) received a positive "Final Appraisal Determination" from the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Specifically, NICE's Final Appraisal Determination recommends ALIMTA as an option for the maintenance treatment of people with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with other than predominantly squamous cell (nonsquamous) histology if disease has not progressed immediately following platinum-based chemotherapy first-line chemotherapy. 
Boehringer Ingelheim announced the launch of its corporate venture capital fund, the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF). The BIVF aims to invest in Biotech and Start-up companies that provide ground-breaking therapeutic approaches and technologies to help drive innovation in medical science. These may include - but are not limited to - new therapeutic concepts including stem cells and RNA silencing as well as new generation vaccines, new generation protein or antibody technologies, new molecular targets and/or first-in-class lead compounds. 
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that Xeloda (capecitabine) in combination with oxaliplatin (a combination known as XELOX) has been approved by the European Commission for the adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of patients with early colon cancer. The approval was based on results from the pivotal NO16968 (XELOXA) study, one of the largest studies of patients with stage III (early) colon cancer, which showed that patients taking XELOX immediately after surgery lived disease-free for longer compared to those treated with chemotherapy regimen 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV).(1) 
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirmed that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has maintained its position that it "sees no safety concerns with the Rotarix oral vaccine" and healthcare practitioners in the European Union should continue to use Rotarix™ as indicated. This follows a meeting of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) held on 25th March 2010 to further review all available data relating to the presence of material from PCV-1 in the vaccine.