Renovo's shares plunge 75% after anti-scarring treatment setback

Another British biotech company has run into trouble, with Renovo saying its key product had failed a clinical trial. Shares in the biopharma group have slumped 75%, down 51.5p to just 17p, after it said anti-scarring product Juvista had not met its targets in a Phase 3 (that is, late stage) trial. The company said it would conduct further analysis to determine the future of the Juvista programme. Chief executive Mark Ferguson said: We are extremely surprised and disappointed by the failure of Juvista to meet [phase 3 targets]. The board will now consider all options open to it to maximise shareholder value. Shire , which has a licence to sell Juvista in the US, Mexico and Canada, seems unaffected - its shares are up 23p at £16.94 as analysts warmed to its results from yesterday. Renovo follows the sad example of Antisoma, whose shares plunged after it reported half year losses of £16m and abandoned development of its leukaemia treatment AS1413.