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NEW YORK — Patients taking an investigative antidepressant undergoing late-stage clinical development showed “significant” improvement, according to study results released Monday.

Forest Labs and Pierre Fabre Medicament announced results of a phase-3 trial of levomilnacipran in adults with major depressive disorder. Results showed a statistically significant improvement in patients treated with the drug, compared with those taking placebo.

INDIANAPOLIS — A statin made by Eli Lilly and Kowa Pharmaceuticals America appears to work well with drugs used to treat HIV, according to a study presented at the sixth International AIDS Society conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome.

The study was designed to investigate potential interactions between Livalo (pitavastatin) and Abbott’s antiretroviral protease inhibitor Kaletra (lopinavir and ritonavir). The study found that each drug had only a minimal effect on the other.

PHILADELPHIA — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Shire for treating ulcerative colitis, the British drug maker said Monday.

Shire announced the approval of Lialda (mesalamine) delayed-release tablets for the maintenance of remission in patients with the disease.

The drug was already approved for inducing remission in patients with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease that affects the colon and causes chronic inflammation, sores and ulcers.

SYDNEY — Australian drug maker QRxPharma is seeking approval for a drug that combines two painkillers in one pill, the company said Monday.

QRxPharma announced that it had filed a regulatory approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for MoxDuo IR (morphine and oxycodone). The drug is designed to release both drugs into the body immediately.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. — Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, on Monday announced that it has begun shipping its 2011-2012 Fluzone influenza virus vaccine in the United States. This shipment represents the first of approximately 70 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine the company plans to deliver to the United States in the upcoming season.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Upsher-Smith Labs has started a late-stage clinical trial of a drug for treating patients with a rare and severe form of epilepsy, the drug maker said Monday.

FRAZER, Pa. — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries got the go-ahead from Cephalon’s shareholders to acquire the Frazer, Pa.-based company in a deal worth $6.8 billion.

Teva came out as the front-runner to purchase Cephalon in May, when the drug maker spurned a takeover bid by Mississauga, Ontario-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which had offered $5.7 billion in March.

BERLIN — A new study conducted by Bayer HealthCare suggests that an investigational treatment for acne may be suitable for patients with dark complexions whose acne includes a condition that causes irregular discoloration of the skin known as postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, or PIH.