The Thriving Box Company is on track to place £1 million worth of business with local independent retailers after launching in March.

The pioneering venture, founded by Edinburgh entrepreneur Robbie Allen, said it continues to provide a critical lifeline for small businesses across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol and Manchester, many of whom may have been forced to close their doors permanently as a result of the pandemic.

Mr Allen said: “Our aim is to keep the UK thriving and we’ll do everything we can to keep that happening."

The venture has delivered over 8,000 gift boxes throughout the UK, to date, generating over £600,000 in revenue for small independent businesses.

READ MORE: Monday Interview: Making sure food was on the table amid wave of panic buying

Mr Allen previously worked with Rockstar Games, Standard Life, Cirrus Logic, People's Postcode Lottery, Team England, Metaswitch, Mondra and TVSquared and it is claimed he is on track to place £1m worth of business with local independent retailers by the end of the year.

The firm said that for many this has made the difference between surviving or going under.

There are two box sizes of gift box available and customers receive a variety of products including artisan food and snacks, local art, drinks, craft coffee, beer, spirits, lifestyle products and local skin care products, all of which will be high-quality and local to the area.

The company also offers bespoke corporate care packages and gifting options and The Momentum box has recently been added to their offering which contains a selection of products from independent, black-owned businesses across the UK.

Mr Allen added: “Over the past eight months, we’ve partnered with a bunch of amazing local businesses and placed sizable orders with them, supporting their cash flow during these really challenging times. We handle the e-commerce and logistics side of things and sell bespoke boxes and care packages to customers across the globe.”

Drugmaker AstraZeneca could pay up to six billion dollars (£4.7 billion) for the global rights to a new Japanese cancer treatment.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant said it would pay one billion dollars (£800 million) up front to its new partner Daiichi Sankyo.

READ MORE: Pandemic has 'amplified' need for net-zero carbon economy, commission finds

It has also promised to pay up to one billion dollars if the new treatment gets approval from regulators, and up to four billion (£3.1 billion) more if it sells as hoped.

The treatment, DS-1062, targets the Trop2 protein which is overproduced by most breast and lung cancers.

Honing in on the cells that produce too much of the protein allows the treatment to deliver selective chemotherapy to certain areas, rather than subjecting the whole body to the treatment.

The medicine has not yet been approved for use in any country, and its safety and efficacy have not been established.

"We see significant potential in this antibody drug conjugate in lung as well as in breast and other cancers that commonly express Trop2," said AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot.

The deal will give AstraZeneca a slice of the global sales of the treatment, as the two companies have agreed to partner up to develop and then commercialise DS-1062.

However, Daiichi Sankyo will keep the exclusive rights to the Japanese market.
It is not the first time the two drug giants have collaborated.

In March last year, they started a similar partnership to develop and commercialise breast cancer treatment Enhertu.

"We are delighted to enter this new collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo and to build on the successful launch of Enhertu to further expand our pipeline and leadership in oncology," Mr Soriot said.

He added: "We now have six potential blockbusters in oncology with more to come in our early and late pipelines."

Daiichi Sankyo chief executive Sunao Manabe said the new treatment could become "best-in-class" for targeting and treating multiple tumours, including breast and lung cancers.

He said: "This new strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca, a company with extensive experience and significant expertise in the global oncology business, will enable us to deliver DS-1062 to more patients around the world as quickly as possible."

Ryanair has reported a loss of 185 million euro (£168 million) in the first quarter of the year, which the airline called the "most challenging" in its history.

Coronavirus saw the low-cost airline's fleet largely grounded for four months between March and the end of June.

READ MORE: Highland craft brewery eyes growth as pubs reopen after lockdown

The company said traffic in Q1 fell to 0.5 million from 41.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Ryanair Holdings plc said it aims to operate around 40% of its normal July schedule, rising to around 60% in August and hopes to have 70% of its flights running the following month.

You can now have the bulletin and the top business news stories sent direct to your email inbox twice-daily for free. Simply tick Business Bulletin AM edition and Business Bulletin PM edition, and Business Week for the weekly round-up on Sunday, in the newsletters section here to sign up:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/my/account/register/