Drugmaker Indivior to desert London record amid exodus of businesses

The drugmaker Indivior has develop into the most recent corporate to desert its record in London, heaping additional force at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to reinvigorate itself.

The Virginia-based corporate, which makes the opioid dependancy remedies Sublocade and Suboxone, switched its major inventory record to the USA final yr, however now plans to cancel the secondary record it had retained in London.

Indivior stated on Monday that during making the verdict it had thought to be the liquidity and buying and selling volumes of its stocks on the USA’s Nasdaq change in comparison with the LSE; the positioning of its shareholders; and the associated fee and administrative necessities associated with the London record.

More than 80% of Indivior’s internet revenues come from the USA, which has been within the grip of an opioid disaster for many years, after a upward push in the usage of opioid painkillers resulted in expanding dependancy charges and a pointy upward push in deadly overdoses.

David Wheadon, the Indivior chair, stated: “A single primary listing on Nasdaq best reflects the profile of Indivior’s business. We appreciate the support received from shareholders for this initiative and look forward to capitalising on the expected benefits of this move, including reductions in cost and complexity.”

The London-listed percentage value fell via 2% to 925.7p on Monday, giving Indivior a marketplace price of just about £1.2bn.

The LSE has been hit via an exodus of businesses, such because the Anglo-German trip corporate Tui, which opted for a sole record in Frankfurt final yr.

“The London Stock Exchange will be upset it is losing another big name,” stated Russ Mould, the funding director at AJ Bell. “It means the pressure is on to attract new names to the market and keep existing ones.”

The blow used to be softened because the LSE welcomed Anglo American’s $11bn (£8bn) platinum spin-off Valterra, which become unbiased from the mining corporate. Valterra is indexed in South Africa and can now have a London record as smartly. Anglo keeps a 19.9% stake for now however has promised to promote it down over the years.

Mould stated he had anticipated Indivior to go out London fully, as its industry is interested in the USA, the place maximum of its shareholders are founded. The corporate have been indexed in London as it used to be spun off in 2014 from the United Kingdom client items crew Reckitt Benckiser, itself indexed in London.

Indivior appointed the pharma veteran Joseph Ciaffoni as leader govt in February, changing Mark Crossley after caution of a pointy drop in revenues this yr. Last yr it posted 9% gross sales enlargement to just about $1.2bn.

This used to be pushed via Sublocade, a prescription medication this is injected as soon as a month via well being pros to regard dependancy to opioid medicine in adults, along psychological well being give a boost to. Suboxone is an identical drug however is given as drugs or as a movie that dissolves when positioned below the tongue.

Sublocade’s 2025 gross sales are anticipated to be flat in comparison with final yr, whilst Suboxone movie faces a 50% hunch in gross sales on account of festival from generic medicine, and Indivior will discontinue Perseris, its once-monthly schizophrenia drug.

Indivior additionally stated in February it confronted “numerous lawsuits”, together with an allegation that Suboxone movie used to be “defectively designed and caused dental injury”.

There have additionally been instances introduced via shareholders in the United Kingdom and US. Indivior faces a lawsuit from Wirral council, which administers the Merseyside Pension Fund, in London’s top courtroom over alleged false advertising of Suboxone. The case used to be thrown out in 2023; Wirral council appealed, and Indivior stated in February it meant to “vigorously defend” itself.

In 2019, the USA justice division charged Indivior with fraudulently claiming Suboxone movie used to be higher and more secure than identical medicine.

Its former guardian, Reckitt, agreed to pay a $1.4bn high-quality to settle the case in July 2019, with none admission of wrongdoing, whilst Indivior stated in 2020 that it had “pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement relating to healthcare matters in 2012” and that it could make bills to federal and state government totalling $600m over seven years.

Shaun Thaxter, the previous Indivior leader govt, used to be sentenced to 6 months in federal jail in 2020 after pleading accountable to his position in a scheme to protected Medicaid protection for Suboxone movie via deceptive officers about its risks to youngsters.