TechMARK movers: Ark slumps on drug rejection

18th Dec 2009 14:54

It has been a long time since a TechMARK company has fallen as sharply in one day as Ark Therapeutics. European regulator EMEA has rejected the drug developer's brain cancer treatment Cerepro. This is the second time that Cerepro has been rejected by the regulator, which previously had concerns about the way the trial was carried out. EMEA feels that Cerepro is not effective enough and there is a safety risk.There is an increased risk of side-effects, including hemiparesis (slight paralysis on one side of the body) and seizures (fits).The Phase III trial indicated that there was an additional 42 days before death or re-intervention when Cerepro was used, compared with standard treatments. However, there appeared to be no real effect on the survival of the patient. Ark intends to appeal. Broker KBC Peel Hunt has cut its target price for Ark to 10p a share. That is equivalent to the £20m cash in the bank. Identification services provider GB Group disappointed the market in November with poor figures but now it has something to perk up the share price. Sky Betting has renewed its exclusive agreement with GB for a further five years. The deal is worth six figures and covers the URU and ID3 identification products. FTSE TechMARK - RisersGB Group (GBG) 21.00p +6.33%Network Technology (NTY) 2,600.00p +5.77%Triad Group (TRD) 37.50p +5.33%Vislink (VLK) 20.50p +4.88%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 122.00p +4.50%Kewill (KWL) 112.00p +4.19%Kofax (KFX) 190.00p +2.98%Morse (MOR) 43.50p +2.35%Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 11.00p +2.33%Alterian (ALN) 176.00p +1.88%FTSE TechMARK - FallersArk Therapeutics (AKT) 18.50p -38.33%Alphameric (ALM) 26.50p -9.40%Total Systems (TTS) 23.50p -7.84%Torotrak (TRK) 25.00p -5.66%Antisoma (ASM) 34.00p -4.90%Axis-Shield (ASD) 375.25p -3.78%Genus (GNS) 623.00p -2.96%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 255.00p -2.49%Emblaze (BLZ) 43.25p -2.26%Phytopharm (PYM) 11.25p -2.17%