AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) have ended their phase three Strength trial for Epanaova in an update on Monday.

The firm added that this could lead to a $100 million impairment, something which will worry shareholders.

Astra said that this decision was based on a recommendation by an independent monitoring g committee, which said that Epanova is “unlikely to demonstrate a benefit to patients” with mixed dyslipidaemia who are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Mene Pangalos, Astra’s executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: “It was important to assess the potential benefit of Epanova in mixed dyslipidaemia. We are disappointed by these results, but we remain committed to addressing the needs of patients in the cardiovascular space where we have an extensive pipeline.”

“Any impairment will be treated as a non-core item in the fourth quarter of 2019. A write down of up to USD100 million relating to inventories is also anticipated to impact the core earnings in the fourth quarter of 2019,” Astra added.

Astra also said that they are reviewing the ongoing value of their $533 million Epanova asset.

Astra slow down after electric start to 2020

Just one week ago, Astra said that they had received the green light on both their Lokelma and Farxiga drugs.

AstraZeneca said that the Lokelma drug has been approved in China for the treatment of hyperkalaemia and Farxiga granted a priority review by the US Food & Drug Administration.

Lokelma is used to treat conditions such as hyperkalaemia which is diagnosed by high level of potassium in the blood, which can lead to many other long term health complications.

The firm had seen a very impressive few weeks of trading as they agreed a tie up deal with Deepmatter Group PLC (LON:DMTR) in a digital technology venture.

Additionally the firm also outlined plans to market their Lynparza drug which was agreed with US based Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK).

The approval in China is based off the successful results from the III SOLO-1 trial, which showed that Lynparza significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 70% in women with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer following response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of Global Clinical Development, chief medical officer, MSD Research Laboratories, said: “Today’s approval of Lynparza reinforces the importance of patients knowing their BRCA mutation status at diagnosis.

“We are proud to provide a new option for the treatment of this devastating disease in China, and we will continue to collaborate with the Chinese government and healthcare organizations to provide Lynparza to patients who need it as quickly as possible”.

Certainly, there had to be a slow down for AstraZeneca following a very impressive few months of trading.

However, shareholders will not be too concerned with the updates provided today as the new deals outlined will massively increase potency and reach in the pharmaceuticals market.

Shares of Astra trade at 7,661p (+0.21%). 13/1/20 10:58BST.

William Hill PLC (LON:WMH) have said to shareholders that they expect profits to be ahead of expectations.

The firm said that this was driven by favorable sports results as the firm gave shareholders a positive update on Monday.

In their trading update, the firm said that adjusted operating profit from continuing operations is expected to be in range of £143 million to £148 million, ahead of market and management expectations.

The firm said that favorable sports results allowed the strong end to the year, which will please shareholders.

The betting firm said that the retail business, after being scrutinized with restructuring and reorganizational plans generated profits above their guidance.

Initial guidance was in the range of £50 million to £70 million, as the firm alluded to “favorable sporting results in December, above the long term gross win margin range”.

Online once again grabbed the headlines as this sector grew for the fourth consecutive quarter, whilst weakness in gaming net revenue was offset by a strong sporting gross win margin, the bookmaker said.

Ulrik Bengtsson, chief executive officer, said: “The group has delivered a strong operating performance, ahead of our expectations and against a challenging regulatory backdrop.”

William Hill also announced the departure of Chief Financial Officer Ruth Prior.

Prior who has been with William Hill since 2017 will take up a role with Element Materials as Chief Financial Officer.

William Hill and 888 go head to head

In similar fashion to William Hill, 888 (LON:888) have given shareholders a confident update following a strong period of trading.

888 alluded to strong performance in the second half of the year, which has driven its full year expectations.

December revenue was particularly strong as this figure hit a new monthly high with progress supported by the success of the Orbit casino platform launched in May 2018.

In the first half of 2019, 888 reported pretax profit of $22.2 million, falling from $60.1 million a year before, on $277.3 million in revenue, down from $283.9 million.

In 2018, the company’s pretax profit was $108.7 million on revenue of $529.9 million.

888 said it was pleased by the first-phase rollout of its Poker 8 platform. The company will add “a number of exciting new product features” and will be rolling out the final-phase platform in 2020.

GVC – another name to be mentioned

GVC (LON:GVC) who run stores such as Coral, saw their shares up in October as the firm lifted its full year guidance. The owner of the Ladbrokes brand increased its core profits forecast, predicting that they will now lie in the range of £670 million – £680 million for the full year.

The Coral brand has become synonymous with UK betting, whilst bwin is one of the leading online betting brands in Europe.

Additionally, the firm appointed former Homeserve PLC (LON:HSV) chair as its new non-executive chair. This came at a time where GVC were looking to stimulate business and impose their foot holding in the UK market.

The betting market certainly has become competitive, and William Hill have seemed to perform strongly and in line with competition.

William Hill are set to post their annual results on February 26, and shareholders will be hoping that the firm can sustain trading across the new year.

Shares of William Hill trade at 184p (+0.19%). 13/1/20 10:47BST.

Verona Pharmaceuticals (LON:VRP) have given shareholders a pleasing update at the start of the week.

The firm said that its Phase 2b clinical trial of nebulized Ensifentrine met its primary endpoint.

The four weeks trial, which is currently being undertaken is being studied within severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients is now reaching its conclusion.

The drug was administered twice daily in combination with tiotropium, a treatment used in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Verona are currently trialling four different doses of the new medication, which are 0.375 milligram, 0.75 milligram, 1.5 milligrams and 3.0 milligrams.

Verona said the drug hit its “primary endpoint” for a dose-related positive effect on lung function when compared with a group taking a placebo that has no medical benefit.

“We are delighted with these results in symptomatic COPD patients already on steady-state maintenance treatment. These data bring clarity to planning the design, including dose selection, endpoints and background therapy, of our Phase 3 program. We expect Phase 3 trials to start in the third quarter of 2020,” said Verona Pharma CEO Jan-Anders Karlsson.

“We look forward to discussing these new and compelling data, together with the positive results from our previous clinical studies, in an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA planned for the second quarter,” he finished.

Verona build from November worries

At the start of November, the firm reported that it had widened its third quarter loss, which sent shares in red.

For the three months ended September 30, Verona’s pretax loss totaled £12.8 million, more than three times the £3.5 million loss posted the the year before.

The increasing costs in the Research and Development team was the main cause of the massive loss.

These costs inflated to £12.0 million from £5.3 million. Verona’s general & administrative costs also rose, jumping 43% to £2.0 million from £1.4 million.

A 28% increase in general & administrative costs to £5.9 million from £4.6 million also saw the loss widen for Verona.

Chief Executive Jan-Anders Karlsson said: “We are very pleased that our four-week phase 2b dose-ranging clinical trial with nebulized ensifentrine is progressing according to plan and that we have completed enrollment of over 400 symptomatic patients with moderate to severe COPD. We anticipate completing this study around the end of 2019. Informed by this and prior studies in around 850 subjects, we plan to advance into our phase 3 clinical trial program which we expect to commence in 2020 following an end of phase 2 meeting with the [US Food & Drug Administration.

However, it seems from the update today that the increased expenditure in research and development may have had long term benefits.

Shareholder of Verona would have been initially worried about the loss widening a few months back, however from today’s update there will be keen optimism to see how results perform.

Shares in Verone trade at 88p (+53.28%). 13/1/20 10:33BST.

Aston Martin (LON:AML) shares rallied on Friday after reports suggested Chinese firm Geely are interested in taking a stake in the group. Shares in Aston Martin rose over 14% as the news broke on Friday afternoon. The Financial Times reported Aston Martin had been the subject of due diligence by Geely who also owns a 10% stake in Daimler. The news comes just days after Aston Martin issued a profit warning which sent shares into a downward spiral as the company revised FY 2019 EBITDA down to £130m-£140m. Aston Martin listed in London in 2018 in a much anticipated IPO but has failed to live up to expectations with shares falling over 75%. Geely will see recent difficulties at Aston Martin as an opportunity to broaden their portfolio into a tier 1 luxury brand.

Geely expansion into Europe

Geely Auto Group was founded in China in 1997 and has expanded through a number of acquisitions and now operates global business with much of the overseas expansion in the last decade being focused on Europe. Geely has acquired stakes or completely taken over brands such as Volvo and British racing brand Lotus as well as Malaysia’s national brand, Proton. A stake Aston Martin would compliment Geely’s holdings in Diamler, who Aston Martin buys parts from.

A Disappointing Year

Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO, commented on the ‘disappointing’ trading statement: “From a trading perspective, 2019 has been a very disappointing year. Whilst retails have grown by 12%, our best result since 2007, our underlying performance will fail to deliver the profits we planned, despite a reduction in dealer stock levels. We are taking a series of actions to manage the business through this difficult period. This will include a cost saving programme alongside a focus on returning dealer stock levels to those more normally associated with a luxury company; winning back our strong price positioning is a key focus. The signs from the launch of the DBX are very encouraging and the order rate seen to date is materially better than for any of our previous models. Launch plans are progressing well and we are achieving all of our key operational milestones. Start of production remains on track for Q2 2020.” Shares in Aston Martin (LON:AML) changed hands at 457p, up 12%, just before the close on Friday.