FTSE 100 movers: Drug hand back boosts Glaxo

18th Mar 2010 16:02

Footsie is barely changed on the day but pharma company GlaxoSmithKline is a big riser. Rival drug group Novartis has handed back the US rights for asthma treatment VR315 to UK-based pharma company Vectura. VR315 is widely considered to be a generic copy of Glaxo's top selling drug, the Asthma treatment Advair. The US is Advair's biggest market. Vectura is building up its presence in the US and intends to commercialise VR315 in the country but it lacks the muscle of Novartis. Royal Bank of Scotland says that it believes the UK government will begin to sell its stake in the bank by 2013. The UK government owns 84% of RBS. A breakeven price for the government is 50.5p a share. FTSE 100 - RisersGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,267.00p +3.47%Experian Group (EXPN) 641.00p +2.07%Cairn Energy (CNE) 394.90p +1.67%BG Group (BG.) 1,192.00p +1.62%SABMiller (SAB) 1,919.00p +1.59%G4S (GFS) 259.70p +1.48%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,451.00p +1.33%Aggreko (AGK) 1,149.00p +1.23%TUI Travel (TT.) 296.60p +1.16%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,456.00p +1.11%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 42.15p -3.21%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,686.00p -3.07%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.89p -2.58%Fresnillo (FRES) 833.00p -2.46%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,496.00p -2.35%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,901.00p -2.18%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,010.00p -1.94%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,156.00p -1.78%Barclays (BARC) 353.45p -1.66%Wolseley (WOS) 1,624.00p -1.52%