Vectura shares fall as partner Novartis reports US delay for lung cancer drug
Shares of UK-based Vectura (LSE: VEC) tumbled 22% at 66 pence on Tuesday, after the company revealed that its partner, Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN: VX), had announced a delay to the approval of their jointly-developed lung cancer drug candidates NVA237 and QVA149.
In the USA, Novartis said that NVA237 will require additional clinical data to support submission and will consequently be delayed. The changes to the US NVA237 program will similarly impact approval timing for QVA149 in the USA, where additional clinical studies will be required. The QVA149 submission remains on track for 2012 in European Union and rest of world.
Novartis gave no details about the issues delaying the two products, but the fact both NVA237 and QVA149 are affected suggests there could be a problem with the dose response, according to Nomura analyst Michael King.
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