MARKET REPORT: Indivior shares fall as company abandons schizophrenia drug

Indivior shares hit a three-year low after it launched one of its schizophrenia drugs and warned that earnings will be worse than expected.

The pharmaceutical company, whose shares are still traded in London despite moving its main listing to New York last month, will stop sales of its drug Perseris because it said the monthly injection is “no longer financially viable.”

While Indivior will continue to supply the drug to patients “for the foreseeable future to avoid disruptions in patient care,” it will stop marketing the product and has eliminated 130 jobs.

The group, which was spun out of Cillit Bang owner Reckitt Benckiser (down 0.9 per cent, or 39p, at 4,247p) a decade ago, also makes opioid addiction treatments in the US.

But sales of one of them, known as Sublocade, have declined as fewer patients enroll in Medicaid in the United States.

Indivior also agreed to pay $85m (£66m) to settle a legal matter that was due to go to trial next week.

As a result, the company has cut its group sales forecast for 2024 and now expects to report lower revenues for Perseris and Sublocade.

Shares fell 36 percent, or 424.5 pence, to 756.5 pence, the lowest level since July 2021.

Shares in recruitment firm Page Group also fell after the company issued its second profit warning of the year. The company said workers remained reluctant to change jobs due to disappointing pay offers.

The recruitment firm expects to make £60m of profit in 2024, down from a previous forecast of £90m.

The gloomy outlook followed a tough second quarter that included a poor performance in China and saw clients looking to hire new staff constrained by reduced budgets.

The company also cut 153 jobs and its shares fell 4 percent, or 16.8 pence, to 405.8 pence.

The sell-off spread across the industry: recruitment firms Hays fell 6 per cent, or 5.7p, to 89.95p, and Robert Walters lost 2 per cent, or 8p, to 400p.

In the broader market, the FTSE 100 fell 0.66 per cent, or 53.68 points, to 8,139.81 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.74 per cent, or 153.3 points, to 20,645.02.

Hiscox gave up gains a day after reports that two rivals in Japan and Italy were considering a takeover bid.

Shares in the insurer fell 2.2 percent, or 28 pence, to 1,239 pence after rising 13 percent in the previous session.

Construction firm Vistry is preparing to play a role in helping the new government tackle the country’s “housing crisis” and deliver affordable homes.

The company built around 7,750 homes in the first half of the year, 8 percent more than in the same period in 2023.

As a result, it remains on track to deliver more than 18,000 homes by 2024. Shares fell 1.6 percent, or 21 pence, to 1,271 pence.

Capita, which collects the BBC’s licence fee, went in the opposite direction.

The contractor is selling its public sector software business Capita One to property firm MRI Software, which will pay £207m and a £4.8m dividend for the unit.

Capita plans to use the money to shore up its finances and reduce debt. Shares rose 21.9 percent, or 3.4 pence, to 18.9 pence.