Heroin addiction firm in a downward spiral
ANOTHER knock for the beleaguered drugs company Indivior has sent its shares on a downward spiral.
The company, which makes medication to treat heroin addiction, has been battling competitors producing cheaper versions of its Suboxone film drug.
After a long- running court battle with rival Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Indivior said its application to have the case reheard had been dismissed.
Indivior wanted judges to overturn a previous court’s decision, which gave Dr Reddy’s permission to sell rival products in the US.
Chief executive Shaun Thaxter said he was ‘disappointed’ but assured shareholders that the company was taking steps to reduce its dependence on its star drug. Shares still sank by 9.1pc, or 10.25p, to 102.9p.
Jordan Hiscott, from trading firm Ayondo Markets, said: ‘Often, the problem with having a superstar product is that you become too reliant on the income it provides.’ Hiscott added that the decision paves the way for a cheap generic alternative to be made, which would seriously threaten the firm’s customer numbers.
Carpetright shares were looking threadbare too, as the flooring company said UK sales are still in decline. There was a small silver lining for investors, as it said trading in the rest of Europe for the 13 weeks to January 26 was consistently ahead of last year.
It is still on track to make £19m of savings over the year but shares slid 6.1pc, or 1.3p, to 20p.
The FTSE 100 ended up an impressive 2.04pc, or 143.24 points, at 7177.37, its highest level in more than three months. Strong results from oil giant BP pushed the bluechip index up as only six companies ended the day with their shares in the red.
US regulators boosted pharmaceuticals giant Astrazeneca, as they approved one of its viral medications. This means it is recognised as a treatment which has shown encouraging early clinical results, in this case in preventing further infection caused by a common respiratory virus. Shares climbed 2.5pc, or 141p, to 5709p.
Competitor Glaxosmithkline was quick to match the progress.
It is partnering with German firm Merck to develop a new therapy which could help with difficult-to-treat cancers. Eight development studies are expected to start this year, and shares edged up 2.9pc, or 42.6p, to 1522.6p. Private jet services company
Gama Aviation slid, after admitting it had received two payments in error from its US partner.
Both the £4.4m and £1.5m payments were included in its halfyear and full-year financial results, but should not have been made and have now been repaid in full. Shares crashed by 22.9pc, or 20p, to 67.5p.
Virtual reality company Immotion scooped more money from shareholders after announcing it had won contracts at attractions including Legoland and SEA LIFE.
The company wanted to raise £3m from issuing shares at 6p each, and later in the afternoon announced it had raised £3.3m from selling 45.5m new shares.
Immotion ended the day down 21.6pc or 1.75p at 6.35p.
Iron castings and engineering business Chamberlin was weighed down as it warned trading conditions had toughened.
European emissions tests brought in since the Volkswagen scandal have delayed orders of turbocharger components. Shares dipped 12.6pc, or 8.5p, to 59p.
Schools’ IT and computer spending helped drive revenue growth at RM, which provides technology services to education centres. Operating profit jumped 29pc to £27.5m, and shares were 7.9pc, or 18p, higher at 246p.