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PowderJect plunges after
withdrawal of TB vaccine
By Rosie Murray-West (Filed:
13/08/2002)
PowderJect Pharmaceuticals, the company headed by
Labour donor Paul Drayson, lost nearly a quarter of its value yesterday
after it
recalled its tuberculosis vaccine because of issues over its
potency.
The shares tumbled 99.5 to 324.5p, as Mr Drayson warned
that the withdrawal of the BCG vaccine would push the company's
full-year pre-tax profit to £5m below expectations of £25m.
"It's obviously not a good thing," he said yesterday.
"However, we believe that turnover forecasts should be left unchanged
because the company's other products are doing extremely well." He hoped
the company would recommence production of a tuberculosis vaccine in the
future, but probably not this financial year.
The group's tuberculosis vaccine was recalled after
testing revealed that some batches did not retain their full potency to
the end of their shelf life. Mr Drayson said that the drug regulators
were satisfied that there were no related safety implications, because
the vaccine would still be effective at these levels.
He added: "I think when one is a fully integrated
vaccine company you do unfortunately have these issues on rare occasions
such as this," he added. "I do not think this affects the reputation of
the company, because it gives us an opportunity to show just how good
the company is by the way we handle it."
PowderJect ran into controversy earlier this year after
it was
awarded a contract by the Government to produce smallpox vaccines.
Mr Drayson is a significant donor to the Labour Party, and some rivals
claimed that there had been an inadequate tendering process for the
vaccine.
Mr Drayson said that the problems with the TB vaccine
would not affect any of its other vaccines. "It is made in a different
place by a totally different process," he said.
Robin Campbell, pharmaceuticals analyst at WestLB
Panmure, said he believed the share price fall was overdone. "It is
disappointing for investors and the company, but it is an over-reaction
at this point," he said.
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