No word yet on whether breakfast presenter Eamon Dunphy will turn up in the gladiator look favoured in the station's outdoor advertising to demand his chance to win the extra listeners for the station. But Hermes understands that George 'The Incredible' Hook, or what's left of him after today's Leinster v Munster clash, will be large and green. The hearing takes place at 2pm in the Junior Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge.

NO RED FACES FOR FDA WITH BIOGEN LINKS THERE were no red faces amongst Food and Drug Administration advisory panel members who voted for the return of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to the market, after it emerged that five of the 12strong panel had financial ties to either Biogen - one of the drug's makers - or its competitors. The drug is co-owned by Elan and is awaiting final approval from the FDA to return to the market. The chairman of the advisory panel, Karl Kieburtz, a neurology professor at the University of Rochester, received roughly $12,000 for acting in a consultancy capacity for Biogen, while he received less than $30,000 for work with three of Biogen's competitors.

Kieburtz said last week that his work for Biogen did not focus on either MS or Tysabri.

Another panel member, Lily Jung, the medical director of the neurology clinic at Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle, received $10,001 to $50,000 in the previous 12 months from Biogen and less than $20,000 from two rivals with competing MS drugs. Jung, the consumer representative on the panel, told the Boston Globe that she advocates for MS patients, not the companies selling MS drugs that sponsor her talks. I don't think it conflicts at all, " she said.

Still, the fact that panel members on advisory committees have obvious financial links to drug companies, is stoking debate over whether they should have any.

Merrill Goozne of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest based in Washington, said that the FDA should get rid of scientists with conflicts" serving on advisory committees.

RYAN'S TIGER AIRWAYS TO EXPAND ITS ROUTES THE Ryan family-backed Tiger Airways intends to expand its service significantly this year, boosting the number of routes to China and India.

The low-cost airline, in which the Ryan family's investment vehicle has a 16% stake, has said it has a strong cashflow and that the vast majority" of its shareholders' initial investment remains unutilised". The Singapore-based airline, which is one of a number of low-cost carriers that have sprung up in Asia in recent years, said that while shareholders including the Ryans and Singapore Airlines allow management ?significant independence" in running day to day operations, they impose high standards of fiscal discipline". Tiger Airways currently serves 13 cities in seven countries. Former Ryanair executive Conor McCarthy helped to establish Malaysia-based airline AirAsia, which has become the dominant player in the region's nofrills airline market.

FRESH FACE AT SUPERQUINN SUPERQUINN on Friday announced it had hired James Wilson as Trading Director to give the company outlets a retail makeover. Wilson, who comes to the job after having a similar role at Musgrave SuperValu Centra, will see his efforts get their first public debut next month in Superquinn's Blanchardstown location, where a new floorplan will see an expansion from 25,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft.

Simon Burke, chairman of Superquinn, said: We are delighted that someone of James's calibre and experience is joining the Superquinn team. James is ideally positioned to take on this central role in driving the growth of our business. I am confident that James will have an immediate and positive impact in Superquinn."

IRISH FIRMS IGNORANT OF PENSIONS ACT IRISH companies are unaware of their potential exposure to litigation under pensions legislation, according to insurance broker Marsh Ireland.

Breege Lynn, financial lines specialist with Marsh, said a lot of Irish companies are still ignorant of their responsibilities under the 1990 Pensions Act and warned of a potential flurry of claims against trustees in the coming years.

Our view is that there is latent liability. We'd expect to see a lot of activity in this area over the next couple of years, " she said. Lynn, who is due to speak at Marsh's Pensions Governance Forum this Tuesday, said a number of claims against pension trustees have come before UK and Irish courts in recent years. Lynn gave an example of one company which borrowed from its employees' pension fund, with the approval of its trustees, and subsequently went into liquidation. The trustees were sued by the employees and faced personal liability of up to 5m.

You can be held personally liable under Irish [pensions] legislation for a whole host of things, " she said. Marsh, which is hoping to capitalise on this by selling pensions liability insurance to companies, is finding huge ignorance among trustees of what their liabilities are, " according to Lynn.