Headlines from the Proactive UK newsroom.
The FTSE 100 rose again as investors welcomed Europe’s coronavirus bailout and the US gave more details on its reopening plans for non-essential businesses. The blue-chip index added 42 points to 6,187.
Roche and Gilead are combining their two coronavirus candidates to see if that is more effective in fighting COVID-19. A phase III trial using Gilead’s Remdesivir and Roche’s Actemra will test 450 patients with severe pneumonia caused by the virus.
EasyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) is to cut around 30% of its staff and slash its fleet size as it predicted flights won’t recover fully from the coronavirus (COVID-19) disruption until 2023. The Luton-based airline, which has around 15,000 staff, said an employee consultation process about the job losses would start shortly.
Boohoo Group PLC (LON:BOO) has acquired the remaining 34% stake in subsidiary Pretty Little Thing (PLT) for a combination of cash and shares that could potentially rise to £323.8mln. AIM’s biggest company said it expects the acquisition to be significantly earnings enhancing.
Oncimmune Holdings PLC (LON:ONC) has signed its largest contract to date. Swiss pharma giant Roche will make a substantial upfront payment for the AIM-listed group to profile auto-antibodies in patient samples collected during cancer immunotherapy trials.
Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) has completed recruitment of hospitalised patients with coronavirus for the clinical trial of its SNG001 treatment . The patients were recruited across a number of NHS trusts.
Galantas Gold Corp (LON:GAL) has restarted mining at its wholly-owned gold mine near Omagh, Northern Ireland. Staff previously furloughed under the UK government grant scheme during the coronavirus crisis are now back at work, it added.
