UK regulators probe criticise Apple's search engine deal with Google

Apple received the "substantial majority" of the 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) that Google paid to be the default search engine on a variety of devices in the United Kingdom in 2019.

The payments by Alphabet Inc's Google to Apple Inc to be the default search engine on Apple's Safari web browser create "a significant barrier to entry and expansion" for Google's rivals in the search engine market, the UK markets regulator said in a report released on Wednesday.

Apple received the "substantial majority" of the 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) that Google paid to be the default search engine on a variety of devices in the United Kingdom in 2019, according to the report.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, in its final report investigating online platforms and digital advertising, said the arrangements between Apple and Google create "a significant barrier to entry and expansion" for Google's rivals in the search engine market. Those rivals include Microsoft Corp's Bing, Verizon Communications Inc-owned Yahoo and independent search engine DuckDuckGo, all of which also make payments to Apple in exchange for being search engine options on its devices, the report said.

"Given the impact of preinstallations and defaults on mobile devices and Apple's significant market share, it is our view that Apple's existing arrangements with Google create a significant barrier to entry and expansion for rivals affecting competition between search engines on mobiles," the regulators wrote in the report.

Apple and Google did not immediately return requests for comment.

Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi earlier this year estimated that Apple generates about $9 billion per year globally from licensing arrangements, revenue with gross margins above 90% and with about 80% of the total coming from Google. Apple reports the revenue in its services segment, which investors are looking to for growth as consumers slow the pace of iPhone upgrades.

Human trial begins of Imperial College London's candidate Covid-19 vaccine

Imperial College London's vaccine candidate is being developed and trialled with the help of more than £41 million in funding from the UK government and a further £5 million in philanthropic donations.

The human trial of Imperial College London's candidate coronavirus vaccine began on Tuesday with the first healthy volunteer receiving a small dose of it.

It is a second such trial in the UK. The first candidate vaccine that went for the human trial was from Oxford University.

The clinical team, which delivered a small dose of the vaccine to the participant at a West London facility, is closely monitoring the participant and report that they are in good health with no safety concerns, said the college in a press release.

The trials are the first test of a new self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) technology, which has the potential to revolutionise vaccine development and enable scientists to respond more quickly to emerging diseases, the college said.

The volunteer has asked to remain anonymous.

Imperial College London's vaccine candidate is being developed and trialled with the help of more than £41 million in funding from the UK government and a further £5 million in philanthropic donations.

Dr Katrina Pollock, from Imperial's Department of Infectious Disease and Chief Investigator of the study, said: "We have reached a significant milestone in this ground-breaking study with the first dose of a self-amplifying RNA vaccine delivered safely."

"We are now poised to test the vaccine in the dose evaluation phase before moving forward to evaluating it in larger numbers."

The volunteer will receive a second booster dose within four weeks. Several others are expected to receive the first dose over the coming days. The clinical team will continue to monitor all participants closely for safety, as well as look to see if they produce antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.