By , , (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has blocked Bayer AG from selling an agricultural weed killer in the United States, the latest setback for a business already fighting an expensive legal battle over another product.A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency substantially understated the risks related to the use of dicamba, a chemical found in herbicides sold by Bayer and rivals that are sprayed on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The herbicides are known to drift away and damage other crops that are not...…By , , (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has blocked Bayer AG from selling an agricultural weed killer in the United States, the latest setback for a business already fighting an expensive legal battle over another product.A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency substantially understated the risks related to the use of dicamba, a chemical found in herbicides sold by Bayer and rivals that are sprayed on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The herbicides are known to drift away and damage other crops that are not...WW…

By , NEW DELHI/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - India’s top pharmaceuticals export group said a government curb on some drug exports as the coronavirus outbreak spreads has caused panic in Europe and will “severely impact” businesses in the sector.The world’s main supplier of generic drugs has restricted the export of 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the medicines made from them, in a move seen as aimed at tackling possible domestic shortages of medicine during the outbreak.On Wednesday, Dinesh Dua, chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), told...…By , NEW DELHI/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - India’s top pharmaceuticals export group said a government curb on some drug exports as the coronavirus outbreak spreads has caused panic in Europe and will “severely impact” businesses in the sector.The world’s main supplier of generic drugs has restricted the export of 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the medicines made from them, in a move seen as aimed at tackling possible domestic shortages of medicine during the outbreak.On Wednesday, Dinesh Dua, chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), told...WW…

By , FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BASF, the world’s largest chemicals producer by sales, pledged on Friday to spend up to 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) to slash greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter by 2030.Chief Executive Martin Brudermueller said BASF faced growing pressure from carmakers and other big customers to cut emissions and the spending plan included a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050.The results would give the German company a competitive edge, Brudermueller said, but the emissions goal also posed a challenge, given the group’s unchanged commercial ambitions to grow faster than...…By , FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BASF, the world’s largest chemicals producer by sales, pledged on Friday to spend up to 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) to slash greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter by 2030.Chief Executive Martin Brudermueller said BASF faced growing pressure from carmakers and other big customers to cut emissions and the spending plan included a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050.The results would give the German company a competitive edge, Brudermueller said, but the emissions goal also posed a challenge, given the group’s unchanged commercial ambitions to grow faster than...WW…

By FRANKFURT (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has dismissed Moncef Slaoui as chairman of a company controlled by the British drugmaker after an internal investigation found he had sexually harassed a GSK employee several years ago.GSK said the termination of Slaoui’s contract at Galvani Bioelectronics was with immediate effect.Slaoui, the former chief adviser to the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine development programme known as Operation Warp Speed (OWS), on Wednesday night acknowledged his dismissal and issued an apology.“I would like to apologise unreservedly to the employee concerned and I am deeply...…By FRANKFURT (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has dismissed Moncef Slaoui as chairman of a company controlled by the British drugmaker after an internal investigation found he had sexually harassed a GSK employee several years ago.GSK said the termination of Slaoui’s contract at Galvani Bioelectronics was with immediate effect.Slaoui, the former chief adviser to the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine development programme known as Operation Warp Speed (OWS), on Wednesday night acknowledged his dismissal and issued an apology.“I would like to apologise unreservedly to the employee concerned and I am deeply...WW…

By , , LONDON/TAIPEI (Reuters) - AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine performed better than expected in a major late-stage trial, paving the way for its potential emergency authorization in the United States and boosting confidence in the shot after setbacks in Europe.The drugmaker said on Monday that interim data from trials in Chile, Peru and the United States found the vaccine was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and, crucially, posed no increased risk of blood clots.AstraZeneca intends to request U.S. emergency authorization for the vaccine, which was developed in conjunction...…By , , LONDON/TAIPEI (Reuters) - AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine performed better than expected in a major late-stage trial, paving the way for its potential emergency authorization in the United States and boosting confidence in the shot after setbacks in Europe.The drugmaker said on Monday that interim data from trials in Chile, Peru and the United States found the vaccine was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and, crucially, posed no increased risk of blood clots.AstraZeneca intends to request U.S. emergency authorization for the vaccine, which was developed in conjunction...WW…

By , BERLIN (Reuters) - The decision by more than a dozen European countries to suspend AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot faced deepening scrutiny on Wednesday, amid concerns the step could undermine public confidence and delay efforts to beat the coronavirus pandemic.The role of Germany, and in particular Health Minister Jens Spahn, is in the spotlight after a chaotic round of telephone diplomacy at the start of the week ended with the EU’s biggest states agreeing to put AstraZeneca on hold.Spahn says he acted on expert advice after Germany’s vaccine watchdog reported on what it described as a...…By , BERLIN (Reuters) - The decision by more than a dozen European countries to suspend AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot faced deepening scrutiny on Wednesday, amid concerns the step could undermine public confidence and delay efforts to beat the coronavirus pandemic.The role of Germany, and in particular Health Minister Jens Spahn, is in the spotlight after a chaotic round of telephone diplomacy at the start of the week ended with the EU’s biggest states agreeing to put AstraZeneca on hold.Spahn says he acted on expert advice after Germany’s vaccine watchdog reported on what it described as a...WW…

By , ZURICH (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday.“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower Austria province, it said.One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman...…By , ZURICH (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday.“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower Austria province, it said.One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman...WW…

By , ZURICH (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday.“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower Austria province, it said.One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman...…By , ZURICH (Reuters) - Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday.“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower Austria province, it said.One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman...WW…

By (Reuters) - Novavax Inc expects to produce up to 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses monthly by May or June, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday, a day after reporting interim data that showed its shot to be 89% effective in a UK trial.Slideshow Novavax expects to complete the clinical trial for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the next few weeks, but is already working on manufacturing to be able to reach full production capacity quickly, Chief Executive Officer Stanley Erck said.“We should be at full capacity starting in May or June, maybe as much as one hundred and fifty...…By (Reuters) - Novavax Inc expects to produce up to 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses monthly by May or June, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday, a day after reporting interim data that showed its shot to be 89% effective in a UK trial.Slideshow Novavax expects to complete the clinical trial for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the next few weeks, but is already working on manufacturing to be able to reach full production capacity quickly, Chief Executive Officer Stanley Erck said.“We should be at full capacity starting in May or June, maybe as much as one hundred and fifty...WW…

By FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s vaccine regulator on Thursday described the success rate of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as excellent, after some Australian scientists voiced scepticism about its efficacy.Speaking during an online press briefing, the president of Germany’s Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Klaus Cichutek, said there had been some debate over the best usage pattern for the vaccine.“Still, the efficacy remains outstanding and excellent,” he said, citing data.The AstraZeneca shot, co-developed with Oxford University, was shown in a trial to have efficacy of at...…By FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s vaccine regulator on Thursday described the success rate of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as excellent, after some Australian scientists voiced scepticism about its efficacy.Speaking during an online press briefing, the president of Germany’s Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Klaus Cichutek, said there had been some debate over the best usage pattern for the vaccine.“Still, the efficacy remains outstanding and excellent,” he said, citing data.The AstraZeneca shot, co-developed with Oxford University, was shown in a trial to have efficacy of at...WW…