Failed trial puts Shield shares on the rollercoaster
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Shield Diagnostics' test for the blood clotting protein, activated factor XII (AFT), is a better predictor of heart disease than measurements of lipid levels or fibrinogen, according to preliminary data from the multicentre Northwick Park study. However, the company has been rocked by news that AFT data from the much larger US ARIC study of cardiovascular is useless. Shield's shares had climbed to an all time high of 790 pence earlier this month but tumbled back to around 620 pence on news that blood samples stored for use in the 16,000-patient ARIC study had clotted during storage, rendering them useless. Shares closed up at 690 pence on news of the Northwick Park data on March 23rd.