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INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly & Co. and Disney are collaborating to produce a dedicated lifestyle website and publications for families affected by Type 1 diabetes, the two companies said Thursday.

PARIS — French drug maker Sanofi has sold its skin care business to Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Sanofi said.

Sanofi said the $425 million sale of its dermatology business, Dermik, would allow it to focus on its core businesses. Valeant’s business is much more focused on dermatology, as well as neurology, than Sanofi’s is.

NEW YORK — Taking drugs for treating HIV might reduce the risk of infection among heterosexual couples, according to two new studies conducted in Africa.

One study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted among 4,758 couples in Kenya and Uganda, found that when taken daily, Gilead’s Viread (tenofovir) reduced the rates of infection by at least 62% compared with placebo. Truvada (tenofovir and emtricitabine), another drug made by Gilead, reduced infection risk by 73%.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — Novo Nordisk could be outpacing Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals in the diabetes wars, according to an analysis by healthcare market research firm Decision Resources.

DARMSTADT, Germany — Merck KGaA division Merck Serono has appointed Belen Garijo as COO and Annalisa Jenkins as global head of drug development and medical, effective Sept. 5.

The company, which operates under the name "EMD" in the United States and is a separate company from U.S.-based Merck, said Garijo and Jenkins will be based in Geneva and will report to president Stefan Oschmann.

Garijo previously worked for Sanofi, where he was SVP global operations for the European region, while Jenkins was SVP global medical for Bristol-Myers Squibb.

SAN DIEGO — Patients with Type 1 diabetes using an insulin product made by MannKind expressed a better opinion about insulin therapy than those taking the standard treatment, according to a study presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 71st Scientific Sessions.

MannKind said that patients taking the investigational inhaled insulin Afrezza (insulin human [rDNA origin]) with basal insulin came to view insulin therapy more positively during the 16-week study than those taking Eli Lilly’s injected Humalog (insulin lispro [rDNA origin]) with basal insulin.

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly's SVP global quality has joined the drug maker's executive committee, effective July 1.

Fionnuala Walsh, who joined Lilly in 1988, will continue in her current role at Lilly, where she ensures the company maintains high-quality standards across its worldwide operations.

Walsh reports to company chairman, president and CEO John Lechleiter.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Novartis for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the FDA said Friday.

The FDA approved Arcapta Neohaler (indacaterol inhalation powder) for long-term, once-daily maintenance of bronchodilator treatment of airflow obstruction in people with COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

COPD, which often results from cigarette smoking, is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NEW YORK — Pfizer defended a drug used for smoking cessation Monday following reports of a Canadian study that found it raised the risk of heart problems.

The 8,216-patient study of Chantix (varenicline), published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that of the 4,908 patients who received Chantix, 52 had an increased risk of serious heart problems, with similar risks appearing in 27-of-the-3,308 patients who took placebo.

RARITAN, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Johnson & Johnson for treating deep vein thrombosis in patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery, a J&J subsidiary said Friday.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals announced the approval of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) tablets as a once-daily oral anticoagulant for DVT, a condition that could lead to pulmonary embolism.

BOSTON and BRUSSELS — Drug maker UCB and Harvard University have entered a research alliance that is designed to advance ongoing Harvard research projects along the drug development pathway.

UCB said it will bring its expertise in antibody generation and medicinal chemistry into the alliance and will provide up to $6 million over two years to fund specific innovative research projects led by Harvard scientists. The collaboration focuses on the central nervous system and immunology, UCB said.

SAN DIEGO — Adding an investigational drug for Type 2 diabetes to the common generic drug metformin helped control blood sugar in patients who could not control their blood sugar with metformin alone, according to results of a late-stage clinical study.