Glasgow School of Respiratory Science is to receive a £5.2m grant from Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyorin to develop existing research into creating a range of asthma medicines. The National Asthma Campaign for Scotland has welcomed the investment as Scotland has seen a 50 per cent increase in asthma cases over the past decade. But doctors say the money is long overdue and are pressing health minister Susan Deacon to produce a national asthma strategy.

Glasgow School of Respiratory Science was established in 1999 and includes Glasgow University's Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, the department of physiology and pharmacology at Strathclyde University, and the department of respiratory medicine at Gartnavel Hospital. The money will fund 15 researchers and new facilities at the West of Scotland Science Park in Glasgow.