Indivior shares soar as opioid treatment wins US approval

INVESTORS jumped on pharma group Indivior after the US drug regulator approved the firm’s treatment for opioid addiction – an issue described by Donald Trump as a “national emergency”.

Shares in the mid-cap company surged by as much as 13pc after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light for the addiction treatment through a once-a-month injection of a drug called Sublocade. Shares closed up 3pc at 382p.

Indivior says that 12m Americans abuse opioids – ranging from heroin to prescription painkillers such as morphine and Oxycodone – and the drugs result in four fatal overdoses every hour of the day. It expects it to be available to patients early next year.

Shaun Thaxter, Indivior chief executive, called Sublocade “a scientific innovation” that delivered a “complete blockade of drug-liking effects for a full month in most patients”. He added: “The urgency for this new treatment has never been greater.” FDA approval is a welcome boost for the firm, which is fighting a series of legal battles against copycat versions of its current opioid treatment, the best-selling Suboxone.

Analysts at Jefferies predicted Sublocade would have peak sales of $1.3bn in 2025, a third above the company’s own forecasts.