Astrazeneca lung cancer drug propels FTSE 100 to a fresh record
PHARMACEUTICAL giant Astrazeneca led the FTSE 100 index to a record high yesterday as news of a promising lung-cancer drug trial sent its shares soaring more than 9pc – its biggest jump since US drugs giant Pfizer confirmed it was in takeover talks with the group in April 2014.
Investors welcomed news of a positive Phase III drug trial on Astrazeneca’s Imfinzi drug after tests showed it could “significantly reduce the rise of disease worsening or death” on those with late-stage lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths, with the drug maker’s chief medical officer, Sean Bohen, noting that it is working with regulators around the world to bring the drug to patients as soon as possible.
The news sent Astrazeneca’s stock surging 428.5p to £51.76, a 9pc rise which beats the 14pc climb seen over three years ago when Pfizer made its ultimately unsuccessful tilt at the company.
Astrazeneca’s climb helped the FTSE 100 beat its previous record in March with Britain’s benchmark index ending up 48.76 points at 7,435.39.
While Astrazeneca’s blue-chip rivals Glaxosmithkline and Shire
shared in the success, rising a respective 37.5p to £16.65 and 68p to £47.51, generic drug maker Hikma Pharmaceuticals was
among the laggards, with shares falling 36p to £17.59. That follows an 8pc fall in Hikma shares a day earlier, when it emerged that the company’s launch of a copycat asthma cancer drug had been blocked – news which would have come as
music to GSK’S ears given that it owns the drug Hikma is trying to copy.
The biggest faller was doorstep lender Provident
Financial where news of a £20m one-off hit on redundancy and training costs in its home credit business sent shares down 73p to £31.92, despite quarterly trading figures in line with City expectations.
Meanwhile, Entertainment One, the
owner of the Peppa Pig TV series, saw its shares slip 6.6p to 236.9p after investors swallowed the announcement that a restructuring in its film division meant profits would take a £47m hit.
While the FTSE 100 hit a fresh record, the mid-cap
FTSE 250 index fell 32.72 points to 19,762.97, dragged down by Petrofac. The oil services company saw its shares slide more than 14pc after the Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it is investigating the business, its subsidiaries, as well as their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering. Meanwhile, shares in
Petropavlovsk rose 2pc to 7.6p as the Russian gold miner announced that a trio of investors, controlling more than 25pc of its shares, are planning to vote against the re-election of its founder, veteran City financier Peter Hambro, as its chairman at its annual meeting next month. The three – including Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova group, which also owns gold mines in Russia’s Far East – want four new non-executives for the board.
Online takeaway business
Just Eat, meanwhile, saw its shares climb 25p, or 4.5pc, to 585.5p. Its stock fell earlier in the week when competition regulators said they are considering a full inquiry into its planned merger with Hungry House.