Shire rallies on EU approval for ADHD drug Intuniv

LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Shire was the top riser on the FTSE 100 after the pharmaceuticals company said its Intuniv drug has been awarded European approval for use as a non-stimulant drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents for whom stimulants are not suitable. The European Commission's decision to grant approval is based on data from three pivotal Phase 3 studies investigating the short- and long-term safety and efficacy of Intuniv in children and adolescents with ADHD.

Perry Sternberg, senior vice president of Shire's neuroscience business unit, said: "The approval of Intuniv marks a significant advance in the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents in Europe. Previously, physicians had only one licensed non-stimulant option for these patients.

"The importance of simply providing physicians with the ability to choose the non-stimulant option that may best suit the needs of their patients should not be overlooked, considering the complexities and different manifestations of the disorder in children and adolescents." Shire also benefited from an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' by Barclays, which lifted its price target on the stock to 5,700p from 5,564p following the recent selloff.

The bank said that at current levels, Shire looks cheap from a price-to-earnings perspective, offering nearly double the growth of its EU peers, with an attractive risk-reward.

"CEO Flemming Ornskov remains unperturbed in his desire to grow Shire inorganically and while Baxalta has temporarily stalled we believe the deal makes sense under $55/share," it said.

At 0908 BST, Shire shares were up 3.1% at 4,892p.