British decide 'hands off' is best; FDA waves a stick; The second shoe drops in the Netherlands

OXFORD - Britain's biotech sector breathed a collective sigh of relief when the U.K. government announced last week that it had no intention of introducing new legislation to regulate the industry in the aftermath of the Millargate affair at British Biotech plc. Instead, the government said it welcomes the U.K. BioIndustry Association's proposal to develop and introduce a code of best practice for the biotech sector.

However, critics of the government's softly-softly approach were handed additional ammo just two days before publication of the response when Cortecs plc (LSE:CCS; DLVRY, Isleworth, U.K.) announced last week that two of its three leading compounds were not as far advanced in development as the company had previously implied...