Key events
Introduction: GSK strikes £50m deal with Oxford University on cancer vaccines; dollar rises after Trump U-turn on Colombia tariffs
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker GSK has struck a deal with the University of Oxford under which it will pump up to £50m into early cancer research to develop new treatments.
The partnership lasts at least three years, and will focus on how cancer develops that could inform future development of cancer vaccines.
Most cancers take years or even decades to develop from normal cells to precancerous cells to cancer. Oxford University specialises in the study of precancer biology including the identification and sequencing of neoantigens, or tumour-specific proteins that prompt the immune system to recognise cancer. An active intervention like a vaccine or targeted medicine could prevent them from progressing to cancer.
Professor Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, hailed the partnership as “a step forward in cancer research”.
Tony Wood, GSK’s chief scientific officer, said:
We’re pleased to further strengthen our relationship with Oxford University and to combine the deep knowledge of Oxford and GSK scientists. By exploring precancer biology and building on GSK’s expertise in the science of the immune system, we aim to generate key insights for people at risk of developing cancer.
GSK already has a partnership with the Institute of Molecular and Computational Medicine in Oxford, which focuses on neurological diseases, as well as other collaborations including one with the University of Cambridge announced in October, which focuses on hard-to-treat kidney and respiratory diseases.
The US dollar rose after Donald Trump threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia for turning away military aircraft carrying deported migrants, before a last-minute deal was agreed.
The dollar is up by 0.3% against a basket of major currencies.
The US and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war on Sunday after the White House said the Colombians had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.
In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants and Washington would not impose its threatened penalties.
European stock markets have opened lower, and US stock futures and several Asian markets have also fallen after the Chinese startup DeepSeek launched a free open-source AI model to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Traders are worried about the impact of the low-cost Chinese app on Western tech stocks.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index dropped by 0.3% or 31 points, to 8,470, while Germany’s Dax lost 0.9%, France’s CAC was flat and Spain’s Ibex and Italy’s FTSE MIB both fell by around 0.3%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell by 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.6% and South Korea’s Kospi gained by 0.85%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite slipped by 0.06% while the Shenzhen Composite fell by 1.3%.
The Agenda
-
9am GMT: Germany Ifo Business confidence for January
-
3pm GMT: US New home sales for December
-
3.35pm GMT: ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks
