GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is facing market abuse allegations by the consumer watchdog, Office of Fair Trading (OFT). GSK has responded to the accusations by saying that it acted within the boundaries of law. The GSK market abuse allegations, levelled by OFT, consist of claims that the pharmaceutical behemoth shelled out cash to its competitors to postpone their release of their own editions of GSK’s Seroxat treatment. The OFT allegations of market…

AstraZeneca has acquired AlphaCore Pharma, a US-based biotechnology company, which is currently developing a new type of cholesterol medicine. The acquisition was made through AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.The British drugmaker’s new chief executive Pascal Soriot had earlier stated that AstraZeneca would be taking on more scientific risks by betting on a new and still unproven approach to cardiovascular medicine under AstraZeneca’s restructuring plan which will also see…

Novartis lost a historic case in India which saw the drug manufacturer battle for patent protection rights of its new version of a cancer drug Glivec. The landmark decision by the Indian court was hailed by healthcare activists across the globe, as the decision implies that poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of life-saving medicines. Novartis had argued that it needed patent for its drug Glivec to protect the…

AstraZeneca has announced 2,300 job cuts across its sales and administrative divisions in addition to the 1,600 layoffs that were effected in its research and development sphere. The latest round of cuts takes the number of job cuts in the British drug company to exceed 11,000 in the past 13 months. Pascal Soriot , AstraZeneca’s new chief laid out his cards by saying that he plans to focus research on…

AstraZeneca has announced 2,150 job cuts with most of them concentrated in Tatton which is Chancellor George Osborne’s constituency, just five months after he helped the drugs group secure a £5m government grant to develop its Alderley Park research and development centre. The UK’s second biggest pharmaceutical company announced that it will be closing down the Alderley Park R&D facility in Tatton, causing 550 jobs losses there and 150 elsewhere…

Jaguar Land Rover plans to increase its investment to £150m in its new engine plant in the West Midlands, taking the total to more than £500m. The luxury carmaker has even vowed to create 700 jobs at the plant which raises the toll of employment at the site to 1,400. Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth has confirmed that the investment and hiring will take place at the company’s…

Budweiser maker, Anheuser-Busch, has rubbished claims of beer drinkers in the US that it has watered down 10 of its beer brands. Beer enthusiast and Budweiser lovers across the US filed a $5m (£3.3m) lawsuit in California, accusing Anheuser-Busch of cheating consumers of the alcohol content stated on labels. The lawsuits are based on information from former employees at the company’s 13 US breweries, some in high-level plant positions, according…

Nestle becomes the latest victim of horse meat scandal, having withdrawn its beef pasta meals from its stores in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA in them. Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, has halted deliveries of products containing meat from a German supplier.  The latest sufferer of horse meat scandal has recalled two chilled pasta products – Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini in Italy and Spain. The company confirmed to…

Warren Buffet is all set to acquire food giant Heinz in collaboration with 3G Capital’s Jorge Paulo Lemann for $28bn (£18bn), touted to be food industry’s largest ever acquisition. The world’s third richest man will invest between $12bn (£7.7bn) and $13bn (£8.3bn) in cash as part of the purchase, while Jorge Lemann, who is Brazil’s second-richest man, and loans from US banks JP Morgan and Wells Fargo will make up the rest of the…

Rolls Royce has bagged a £800m government contract with the Royal Navy, securing 2,000 jobs. Rolls Royce  Submarines in Derbyshire won the contract which is aimed at delivering and supporting the UK’s nuclear fleet. The Rolls-Royce contract with Ministry of Defence (MoD) will support propulsion systems on Britain’s fleet of nuclear submarines, while saving the government £200m over a course of the ten-year contract period. The Derby-based group employs 21,000 people in the UK and…