GSK'c ViiV gets Europe nod for HIV prophylaxis, Vodafone taps Luka Mucic as new finance chief
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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 37 points lower on Monday, having closed up 0.23% on Friday at 7,663.73.
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GSK’s majority-owned subsidiary ViiV Healthcare announced on Monday cabotegravir, a long-acting injectable for HIV prevention, had received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency. The firm said the milestone was based on compelling results from recent studies which showed its superior efficacy in reducing the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 compared to daily oral PrEP options. With a significant number of new HIV diagnoses in Europe each year, GSK said the approval represented a crucial advancement in broadening HIV prevention choices in the region.
Vodafone on Monday said it had appointed Luka Mucic as chief financial officer effective from 1 September. Mucic was the chief operating officer of SAP SE from 2014-2017 and its chief financial officer from 2014 until 31 March this year. During these roles, he was responsible for SAP's groupwide finance, legal, data protection, procurement, audit, risk management, security, IT and process management functions.
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A coalition representing 1m small businesses is urging the energy regulator to crack down on the rogue energy brokers who rip off firms, charities, care homes and faith groups by piling billions of pounds in hidden commission fees on to bills. The business groups have written to Ofgem demanding it force gas and electricity suppliers to disclose how much they are paying the intermediaries who market deals on their behalf. – Guardian
The pharmaceuticals business bought by Philip Morris International has suffered a series of senior departures amid other setbacks to the transformation of the world’s biggest tobacco group. Michael Austwick, the chief executive of Vectura, the respiratory drugs company that Philip Morris contentiously acquired for £1 billion two years ago, is stepping down having been in the role only since he joined from Novartis in June last year. – The Times
Travel companies are scrambling to repatriate thousands of tourists from a Greek island ravaged by wildfires, as British holidaymakers spent a second night in temporary accommodation. Government officials held emergency meetings on Sunday as they called for more help for those stranded in Rhodes. – Telegraph
The success of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office has led to Vue International reporting its biggest weekend for UK cinema ticket sales since before the pandemic. On Sunday, the cinema chain said a fifth of its customers had bought tickets to see both films in a double bill given the moniker Barbenheimer on social media. – Guardian
Rising interest rates have prompted a leading forecaster to more than halve its expectations for economic growth next year. The latest projections from the EY Item Club predict that annual growth will amount to only 0.8 per cent in 2024, less than half the 1.9 per cent forecast it made earlier in the year. – The Times
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Wall Street’s main stock gauges closed with little change on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.01% at 35,227.69.
The S&P 500 added 0.03% to settle at 4,536.34, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.22% to 14,032.81.