Good health drives drug stocks rise

FTSE 100 drug stocks Hikma Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca were both buoyant today after the generic specialist’s results beat expectations while Astra was toasting promising results from an ovarian cancer treatment.

Hikma shares shot up 6% as its 2016 operating profits fell less than expected — down a fifth to $302 million (£247 million). After it bought Boehringer Ingelheim’s US generic drugs business West-Ward Columbus last year, Hikma slashed revenue expectations for generics in November.

The City had focused on that slump in Hikma’s copycat medicines business, but results revealed it was offset by growth in its injectable drugs business.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s late-stage trial results from its ovarian cancer drug, Lynparza, showed it delayed the recurrence of the disease by more than two years.

Phase III tests showed a “significant” improvement in survival rates for relapsed ovarian cancer patients, Astra said.

Eric Pujade-Lauraine, of the Hôpitaux Universitaires in Paris, added that the trials “demonstrate the benefits of Lynparza for these women whose cancer is often difficult to treat”.