Smith & Nephew
Revenue from high-growth areas 50%
Analysts were not expecting too much from Smith & Nephew’s compound to treat venous leg ulcers using living cells. The company has a bit of history here; a product to treat the same condition was sold to Shire, which abandoned development and had to take a thumping writedown.
The latest compound failed miserably at phase 3 trials in the US, after successes at the phase 2 stage. The company professes itself baffled and will continue with tests in Europe.
No revenues were expected until the end of 2017, and the market responded with a 14½p fall in the share price to 976½p. S&N has been spending $25 million a year on the compound, part of its strategy