Roche will highlight newer drugs as cancer blockbusters feel biosimilar pressure, while Celgene will talk to investors about its pending acquisition by Bristol. Novo Nordisk has faced concerns about generic and branded competition not to mention price pressures, but its longer-term outlook is sound; Merck's Keytruda tops investors' focus; Gilead looks ahead to new CEO O'Day.

Novo, which is under pressure to diversify and signaled plans to cut jobs back in August, will lay off 400 people as it reallocates resources to more efficiently bring in novel products through both R&D and business development, continuing a deal-making spree that's already under way.

Astellas of Japan and Cytomx of the US will deploy the latter’s Probody bispecific technology to design therapeutics that remain inactive until triggered by proteases in the tumor microenvironment, so that they bind selectively to tumors and leave healthy tissue alone.