Astrazeneca gets boost as good news comes in pairs August 28, 2019 Astrazeneca got a double immune boost today as one of its drugs was given orphan status in the US, while trials of a pulmonary medicine showed positive results. The firm said its medicine Fasenra was granted special status as an orphan drug in the US. Orphans are medicines that treat rare diseases. Read more: Astrazeneca [...]
Former Uber driverless guru charged with stealing secrets from Google August 27, 2019 One of Uber’s former star engineers is facing years in prison after he was yesterday charged with stealing secrets from Google. Anthony Levandowski, one of the world’s leading developers of driverless technology, allegedly took information with him when he left the search giant’s Waymo unit. Read more: Car crash: Uber shows record loss in new [...]
Purdue to settle for up to $12bn in opioid lawsuits August 27, 2019 Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma is set to cough up between $10bn (£8bn) and $12bn to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits over its role in America’s opioid crisis, according to reports. Last week, at least 10 state attorneys general met with lawyers for the Sackler family, which controls the firm, to discuss a deal, NBC reported, citing sources. [...]
BP sells Alaskan fields and pipeline to Hilcorp for $5.6bn August 27, 2019 BP sold all its assets in Alaska to Hilcorp for $5.6bn (£4.5bn) today as the oil giant looks to divest $10bn in assets and re-focus on its core business. The deal includes all of BP’s upstream and midstream business in the US state, and its stake in a major pipeline, the company said. Read more: [...]
Bolsonaro will accept aid offer if Macron withdraws ‘insults’ as Trump pledges support August 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump has said that his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro is “working very hard” on the burning Amazon, as Bolsonaro said he would only accept international aid if France’s leader withdraws “insults”. On Twitter, Trump said said right-wing firebrand Bolsonaro has the US’s “complete support.” “He is working very hard on the Amazon [...]
Big tobacco: Philip Morris and Altria start talks over $210bn mega-merger as Marlboro-makers seek to light up alternative products August 27, 2019 One of the world’s most hotly anticipated mega-mergers kicked off yesterday as tobacco giants Philip Morris International (PMI) and Altria said they were in talks to form a $210bn (£170bn) behemoth. The deal would reunite two companies that split up in 2008 amid regulatory pressures at the time. Read more: Juul raises $325m to fund [...]
Record quake reignites calls for fracking ban August 26, 2019 Ministers faced renewed calls to ban fracking today as a record-breaking earthquake shook homes in Blackpool just weeks after the government said it may review limits which the industry says are stifling business. A 2.9 magnitude quake by Cuadrilla’s Blackpool site woke up locals enjoying a bank-holiday lie-in. Read more: Record-breaking 2.9 earthquake measured at [...]
Iran sells oil from seized tanker a week after it was released August 26, 2019 Iran this morning said that it has sold the oil being transported in one of its tankers, a week after it was released by authorities in Gibraltar. The ship’s owner will decide where its next destination will be after the sale, said an Iranian government spokesperson, quoted by the IRIB news agency. Read more: As [...]
Record-breaking 2.9 earthquake measured at Lancashire fracking site August 26, 2019 The UK’s only active fracking site has seen its third record-breaking earthquake in under a week this morning, smashing through a limit which made the government ban fracking for two years in 2011. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said this morning that a 2.9 magnitude earthquake was measured close to Blackpool, by Cuadrilla’s site. Read [...]
Sheffield Hallam MP Jared O’Mara arrested – reports August 23, 2019 The MP for Sheffield Hallam, Jared O’Mara, was arrested last week on suspicion of fraud, according to reports. Police raided his constituency office, taking documents and computers last Friday, the Mirror and the BBC wrote. Read more: Who the heck is Nick Clegg? Seven facts about Facebook’s new spin chief The MPs office manager Gareth [...]
