Author: Selina McKee

The threat of diabetes in the UK has hit the headlines again after charity Diabetes UK warned that a staggering seven million people across the country are thought to have prediabetes, putting them at a 15-fold greater risk of developing the disease.

Hot on the heels of winning European approval earlier this month AstraZeneca’s Onglyza has now been launched in the UK offering patients with type II diabetes another option for treatment.

Antisoma was given a boost last week on news that regulators on both sides of the pond have awarded orphan drug status to AS1411 for treating patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Shares in UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline were on the rise this morning after it emerged that its new cancer drug Votrient has been cleared by US regulators, marking its first approval worldwide.

GlaxoSmithKline has joined forces with the government, Wellcome Trust and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to establish a brand new biotechnology science park at the drug giant’s Stevenage base, which, according to its chief executive Andrew Witty, will “affirm the UK as a global hub for the life-sciences industry”.