Italy

Unilever opened a centre of excellence for Assembled Foods, a global development centre for products such as ready meals, salads, snacks and bakery goods.

The European Commission has ordered Italy to pay back €270M of loans for aeronautics R&D after rules on state aid were broken.

Anglo-Dutch antibody specialist PanGenetics BV has agreed a collaboration with Lay Line Genomics SpA of Rome, Italy, in the field of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of pain.

Microsoft is to open more research centres in Europe, in a move to step up its research collaboration and boost students' interest in the technology field.