Reuters

By Martin Coulter

LONDON (Reuters) - Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, said on Wednesday it plans to invest around $200 million in quantum computing startups.

The company, the investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, has 77% of voting shares in Novo Nordisk, which is known for producing blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.

CONTEXT

(Reuters) - Consumer healthcare company Haleon's first-quarter revenue missed market estimates on Wednesday, due to retailer destocking in the U.S., and a cool down in demand for cold and flu medication after a surge last year.

Revenues stood at 2.92 billion pounds ($3.64 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, slightly missing expectations of 2.93 billion pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.

($1 = 0.8021 pounds)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - United Airlines on Wednesday extended the cancellation of its daily flight from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv in Israel up to May 9, saying it was completing a safety assessment.

"We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on all upcoming flights with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews," United said in a statement.

United on April 19 cancelled its flights to Israel until May... (continue reading...)

By John Irish

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - France's foreign minister will travel to Cairo on Wednesday in an unscheduled stop during a Middle East tour as efforts to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza reach a critical point, a French diplomatic source said.

Diplomatic efforts towards securing a ceasefire were intensifying following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Gaza's ruling... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies has named the high-profile chief of its consumer business, Yu Chengdong, to a new role chairing the unit, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The move was announced within Huawei last week, the person said. He Gang, the consumer business group's chief operating officer, will now be CEO. Yu's new title is chairman.

Yu had been CEO of Huawei's consumer unit, which includes its smartphone... (continue reading...)