Product marketing briefs from Merck & Co, Merck Serono, GW/Almirall, AstraZeneca and Roche

US drug giant Merck & Co says it has signed a 'statement of mutual intent' with China's Sinopharm, whereby the companies will cooperate on HPV vaccine - notably human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil - and other mutually-selected vaccine products in China, and will also discuss the potential for promoting and marketing Merck's pharmaceutical products in China.

'Expanding our business in emerging markets throughout the world is critical to the mission and growth of Merck/MSD and innovative partnerships are a key element of our approach," said Richard Clark, chairman and chief executive of Merck. "We look forward to furthering our discussions with Sinopharm to establish a joint venture to significantly increase the number of people in China who have access to important vaccines."

FDA accepts oral MS drug cladribine filing