Indivior results give shares a shot in the arm
SHARES in drug firm Indivior leapt 8.5 per cent yesterday on news of a smaller-than-expected profit slide and clinical trial success for its new schizophrenia treatment drug.
The quarterly results were the company’s first as a standalone entity, after it was spun off from Reckitt Benckiser late last year.
Chief executive Shaun Thaxter told City A.M.: “It is a very challenging, competitive environment. The big question was how much generic tablet pricing would intensify price pressures, but prices have not gone down as fast as expected.
“If this environment continues, we may have room to reassess our full-year guidance at the half year.”
Net revenue was $251m (£165m), down 11 per cent from $281m this time last year, and operating profit fell 30 per cent from $165m in 2014 to $115m this quarter. However, Indivior – which gains 80 per cent of its revenues from the US – said the numbers modestly exceeded its expectations.
Indivior’s main product is heroin addiction drug Suboxone. It has also announced “compelling preliminary data” from the phase-three trial of its schizophrenia treatment drug RBP-7000.