KYIV, Ukraine, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) Deputies Viktor Pynzennyk, Yuriy Prodan, and Hryhoriy Nemyria met today in Kyiv with four of the largest foreign creditors of Naftohaz Ukraine, Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company. Investment bankers requested the meeting with BYuT to address Naftohaz Ukraine's precarious financial situation.

LONDON, December 14 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to comments made by Coroner Simon Nelson at the inquest of Linda Docherty of Bury, Greater Manchester, David Pruce, Head of Practice and Quality Improvement said:

"The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain would like to express its concern at hearing of Mrs Docherty's death, following her addiction to Nurofen Plus."

"Pharmacists are highly skilled professionals and the public benefit from access to a wide range of medicines of this type over the counter. Medicines available over the counter can only be purchased in limited quantities."

WASHINGTON, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- New education index sheds light on opportunities for investment in Africa

This month School Ventures launched the African Private Schools Investment Index ("APSI"), developed in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The APSI is an analytical tool for investors, policy makers, philanthropists, educationalists, and the general public. It compares the attractiveness of African education markets as destinations for private investment.

BASINGSTOKE, England and PHILADELPHIA, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Worldwide Rights for all Potential Uses, Excluding U.S. and Japan

- No Other Existing Therapeutic Treatment for Celiac Disease

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announces that it has acquired the worldwide rights, excluding the U.S. and Japan, to AT-1001 from Alba Therapeutics Corporation (Alba). AT-1001 is Alba's lead inhibitor of barrier dysfunction in various gastrointestinal disorders that is currently in Phase 2 development for the treatment of Celiac disease. Shire has acquired rights to all uses for AT-1001, which may also be studied for the treatment of Crohn's disease and other indications.

BASEL, Switzerland, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Physicians Will be Able to Prescribe MabThera With Their Preferred Chemotherapy Regimen as Initial Treatment

Roche announced today that the European Union's Committee on Human Medical Products (CHMP) has given a positive recommendation for extension of the MabThera label to include use of MabThera combined with any chemotherapy combination as first-line treatment for follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), the most common form of indolent NHL. Physicians will now be able to prescribe MabThera with their preferred chemotherapy regimen as an initial treatment for their patients.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, December 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Lancet Oncology publication provides important insights on the use of MammaPrint(R) Breast Cancer Prognosis Test in clinical practice

New research demonstrates that the MammaPrint(R) breast cancer prognosis test was successfully implemented in the diagnostic process of breast cancer patients in community hospitals in The Netherlands. MammaPrint(R) assigned up to one-third of the patients to different risk categories as compared to currently used risk assessment tools. In the majority of these situations, it may lead to a reduction in the use of adjuvant chemotherapy. The findings were published in the December issue of The Lancet Oncology.