Rio's Paul Skinner first business ambassador

The chairman of Rio Tinto, Paul Skinner, will be the first UK visitor to Australia under the new Business Ambassadors scheme announced in October by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Mr Skinner will speak at functions in Melbourne (Monday 24 November) and Sydney (Wednesday 26 November) on "The global economy, the challenge for governments and companies, and the impact on Commodities."

The functions have been organised by the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, and UK Trade & Investment.

Under the Business Ambassadors scheme, business and university leaders in the UK will work with the British Government to promote the UK's excellence internationally and highlight trade and investment opportunities.

They will focus on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which sometimes face greater barriers to accessing global markets than larger businesses.

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Perth biotech company in UK partnership - A Perth based biotechnology company has struck a partnership with leading UK researchers to develop new cancer drugs.

Drug discovery company Phylogica has joined world class researchers from Cambridge University's Molecular Therapeutics Programme (CMTP) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) to facilitate the development and commercialisation of novel cancer drugs.

The first stage of the collaboration will see the translation of Phylogica's Phylomer® peptide library into a new format, increasing the ways these libraries can be screened to identify potential drug candidates.

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Scottish energy services company Wood Group acquired Aberdeen-based MCS, a global subsea engineering consultancy with offices in Perth, Paris, and Kuala Lumpur.

Within the John Wood Group, MCS will join sister companies JP Kenny, Multiphase Solutions Inc. and IONIK Consulting.

Mike Straughen, Group Director and Chief Executive of Wood Group's engineering activities said, "The acquisition of MCS is part of our ongoing strategy to expand and enhance our capabilities in subsea and deepwater, which is one of the strongest growing markets in our industry".

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A full licence agreement has been reached between the UK's SSL International and Melbourne's Starpharma. It allows the British company to market Starpharma's leading pharmaceutical development, the VivaGel coated condom.

SSL is best known as the manufacturer and seller of Durex condoms. The UK company is the world's leading marketer of condoms, with approximately 30 per cent share of the global market for branded condom sales, selling in over 100 countries

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