CAMBRIDGE, Mass - Saturday, November 23rd 2013 [ME NewsWire]

Assessment Follows March 2013 Positive Opinion for TECFIDERA as a First-line Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis -

- European Commission Decision Anticipated -

(BUSINESS WIRE) Today Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) reported that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has determined that dimethyl fumarate in TECFIDERA qualifies as a new active substance (NAS). This designation will provide 10 years of regulatory exclusivity for TECFIDERA in the European Union (EU).

The NAS determination follows a positive opinion by the CHMP in March 2013 recommending marketing authorization in the EU for TECFIDERA as a first-line oral treatment for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The CHMP’s determination will now be referred to the European Commission (EC), which grants marketing authorization for medicines in the EU.

"We are hearten ... Read more »

Close to one billion contactless smartcards to be shipped in 2013

ME NewsWire / Business Wire

PARIS - Thursday, November 21st 2013

CARTES Secure Connexions Event 2013

At the opening of CARTES Secure Connexions Event 2013, Eurosmart, the voice of the Smart Security Industry, released its forecasts for the worldwide shipments of microcontroller-based Smart Secure Devices in 2013 and 2014. With an estimate of 7.2 billion Smart Secure Devices to be shipped in 2013, growing by 7% to over 7.7 billion units to be shipped in 2014, the worldwide continued demand for high-end technological solutions combining convenience and security is strong.

For Eurosmart’s Chairman, Oyvind Rastad, this trend is clearly visible in the advancement of contactless technologies like Near Field Communication (NFC) and dual interface cards: "Contactless payment cards have been in particular strong demand this year, thanks to the convenient and secure user experience they enable, ... Read more »

ME Newswire / Business Wire

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Saturday, November 23rd 2013

Quintiles has received Scrip Awards’ Best Contract Research Organization honors for the second year running, and Best Technological Development in Clinical Trials for Quintiles Infosario Safety System for the first time. The Scrip Awards acknowledge excellence in the biopharmaceutical industry, based on judging by an independent panel of 15 life sciences experts. The 9th annual awards ceremony, held in London, UK, was attended by more than 400 industry leaders from around the world.

"Scrip’s Best Contract Research Organization Award is designed to acknowledge the critical role that CROs play in drug development and is always a very fiercely fought category. Quintiles impressed our judges to claim the trophy for the second year running with its commitment to innovation, particularly with Infosario Safety System. It remains the CRO to beat,” said Mike Ward, chief content officer f ... Read more »

New partnership encourages Hilton HHonors members to earn points and travel in style

MCLEAN, Va - Thursday, November 21st 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hilton HHonors, the loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s 10 distinct hotel brands, today announced a new partnership with Priority Pass™, the world’s largest independent airport lounge access program. Through the partnership, which launched today, Hilton HHonors members can earn points for purchasing a Priority Pass membership or redeem HHonors points for a membership subscription. A Priority Pass membership grants Hilton HHonors members access to over 600 airport VIP lounges in more than 100 countries worldwide and over 300 cities, including London’s Heathrow Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, regardless of the airline flown or fare class.

"This Hilton HHonors partnership with Priority Pass gives our members new options to earn and redeem their HHonors P ... Read more »

ME Newswire / Businesswire

NEW YORK - Saturday, November 23rd 2013

Multi Packaging Solutions, Inc. ("MPS”) announced today that, in connection with the previously announced entry into the combination agreement with Chesapeake Services Limited ("Chesapeake”), MPS is soliciting consents from holders of its 8.500% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "Notes”) to approve amendments (the "Proposed Amendments”) to certain provisions of the indenture (the "Indenture”) governing the Notes.

The adoption of the Proposed Amendments requires the consent of holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Notes voting as a single class.

The Proposed Amendments will be effective once a majority of noteholders have submitted their consents and not validly revoked them prior to the Revocation Deadline (as such term is defined in the consent solicitation statement (the "Consent Solicitation Statement”) dated November 21, 2013) and the related supplemental ind ... Read more »

NEW YORK & BATON ROUGE, La - Thursday, November 21st 2013 [ME NewsWire]

 (BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sumitomo Corporation ("SC”) and Sumitomo Corporation of America ("SCOA”), collectively "Sumitomo”, today announced that it has closed its acquisition of Edgen Group Inc. ("Edgen Group”) for US$12.00 per share.

Dan O’Leary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Edgen Group, will continue to lead Edgen Group’s strategic growth initiatives. Mr. O’Leary stated, "This transaction gives us the capacity to serve the expanding needs and complex procurement requirements of the global energy infrastructure industry on an even greater scale. We look forward to leveraging the value of this new partnership on behalf of our customers around the world.”

"As a leader in the supply of steel products across the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas market in the United States, the acquisition of Edgen Group gives us a broader global distribution platform, including experie ... Read more »