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Shire on a roll as U.S. approves keenly awaited eye drug

Shire has won U.S. approval for its most important new medicine, a treatment for dry eyes, in a fresh boost for the company which completed its $32 billion acquisition of U.S. rare diseases specialist Baxalta last month. The Dublin-based drugmaker has been a big stock market winner following Britain's decision to leave the European Union, benefiting from the strength of the dollar against sterling and investor demand for defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals. Shire shares — already up a fifth since the UK referendum on June 23 — gained another 4 percent on Tuesday on news the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved lifitegrast eye drops for treating signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.

Strasbourg, Lyon join race to snatch EMA from London after Brexit

Officials from the cities of Strasbourg and Lyon are pressing France to wrest the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The EMA approves medicines for all EU countries and employs 890 people including temporary staff. Philippe Richert, president of Grand Est regional council in eastern France, urged President Francois Hollande in a July 1 letter to call for the EMA to be headquartered in Strasbourg.

Companies struggle to get new medicines adopted across Europe

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Pharmaceutical companies, currently enjoying a bumper wave of new drug launches, are struggling to get recently introduced products adopted in key European markets as governments bear down on costs. While a number countries have pledged in recent years to encourage the use of innovative medicines, Europe remains a much tougher market than the United States, prompting many companies to offer significant price discounts.

EU found ‘issues’ with German aviation regulator

A European regulator has found “issues” with Germany’s aviation authority in a regular review of air safety enforcement, the European Commission said. Separately, the aviation authority, the Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA), told Reuters on Sunday that it did not know about co-pilot Andreas Lubitz’s medical background prior to the crash. Parent company Lufthansa has said Lubitz told officials at an airline training school he had gone through a period of severe depression in the past, raising questions over whether medical checks of crew members by the safety regulators and airlines are rigorous enough.