Shares in global healthcare firm BTG (BTG) received an 11% shot to 662p after the company upgraded its pharmaceutical sales guidance for the second time in a little over a month.

BTG said pharmaceutical sales were expected to benefit from a low single-digit increase in the year to 31 March 2019 instead of reaching the upper end of a flat-to-single digit decline.

This was partially helped by a ‘very strong’ October for snake bite antivenom CroFab as demand spiked during the hurricane season.

People stocked up on the treatment in case venomous snakes were swept into their area.

The antivenom recently gained shelf life extension from three to five years by the US Food and Drug Administration, giving CroFab an edge against rival treatments.

In the half year to 30 September, overall sales jumped 12% to $495.7m, driven by interventional oncology and interventional vascular.

Adjusted operating profit soared 35% to $178.5m over the same period.

DEMAND FOR VARITHENA SOARS

Demand for varicose veins treatment Varithena has surged since changes to the way doctors are paid for prescribing the drug were introduced in January.

Since January, the number of customers rose from 80 to 350 in October.

Varithena is expected to become profitable in the 2019/2020 financial year and is forecast to hit peak sales in the ‘high tens of millions of dollars’ in five years.

Numis analyst Paul Cuddon has raised his earnings per share expectations for BTG by 12% to 50c.

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Issue Date: 13 Nov 2018