Despite a chastening year, British Biotech's directors paid themselves a total of £350,000 in bonuses. The former £2 billion flagship of the biotechnology industry saw its value fall to £100 million as a long-running controversy revealed that its drugs did not stand up to the company's initial claims and that it had deliberately misled investors about its progress.
Yet Elliot Goldstein, the Canadian chief executive recruited to salvage the company, was paid £714,000 for his first seven months in the job. This makes him one of the best paid directors of a British company. The disgraced Keith McCullagh, founder and ex-chief executive, received a £369,000 pay-off.
AstraZeneca, the UK's third largest pharmaceutical company, is considering disposing of its agrochemicals business, which is responsible for its controversial research into genetically modified (GM) food. The £40b company said it was reviewing all options for the division after global crop prices had sunk to historic lows. The company denied that the restructuring of their business had anything to do with public anxiety about GM food.
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British Bio's new chief gains £714,000 for seven months' work
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AstraZeneca goes cold on GM crops
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Biotech directors get £350,000 in bonuses
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