Pfizer/Asthma Zeneca - more splendid Indian Bicycle Marketing...

... with a bit of Pork Barrel for luck. From yesterday's Evening Standard:

Boris Johnson today said ministers should be certain that London's science industry would not suffer before backing Pfizer's £63 billion takeover bid for AstraZeneca.

The Mayor said politicians could not be "aloof" from the deal, which the British company has so far resisted.

In particular, he argued that the Government should ensure that UK research and development received funding to cement its world-class status.

From this morning's City AM:

CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday launched a scathing attack on Labour's track record, in an increasingly bitter political row over the proposed takeover of UK drugs giant Astrazeneca.

Using language that flirted closely with protectionism, which he has so far avoided, Osborne attacked Labour's free trade approach to foreign takeovers during its 13 years in office. When in power, Labour allowed Kraft's takeover of Cadbury.

"We'll take no lectures from the last government that virtually destroyed the British economy, and time after again, when there were takeovers, did nothing to protect Britain's national economic interest," he said.

It follows Labour's criticism that Prime Minister David Cameron was acting as a "cheerleader" for Pfizer's controversial takeover bid.