Hyperactivity

...ba href=/hyperactivity/a/b disorder drug not be approved.Jefferies and J.P.

Morgan cut their investment ratings on the stock on Friday, MarketWatch reported on its Web site.

Cephalon shares fell $11.51 to $61.80 on Inet, down from a previous close of $73.31 on the Nasdaq.

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...ba href=/hyperactivity/a/b disorder drug made by rival Cephalon should not be approved.

Shire's top-selling Adderall XR medicine also treats ba href=/hyperactivity/a/b disorder.

By 0819 GMT the FTSE 100 share index was up 10.6 points at 6,001, going against expectations for a weak opening.

The index has been struggling to make a decisive break above 6,000 this week.

Dealers said the release of U.S.

new home sales would be closely watched.

"Any significant shortfall here could reverse the recent attitude shift on long-term U.S.

interest rates," said Matt Buckland a trader at bookmaking firm CMC Group.

Among mid-caps, shares in Babcock surged 20 percent to 321 pence a share after shipbuilder VT Group and defence firm BAE Systems confirmed after Thursday's market close that they were considering a joint bid for support services firm.

© Reuters 2006.

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...ba href=/hyperactivity/a/b disorder should not carry strong "black box" warnings about potential cardiovascular and psychiatric risks.Rather, the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended that the drug labels be written so people can understand them.

"I wouldn’t use the word ‘tougher,’ said panel chairman and physician Robert Nelson.

" ‘Clearer.

’ "By voting against the black box warnings, the pediatric advisory panel broke with another committee that voted just last month to include them on the drugs’ labels.The agency isn’t required to follow the advice of its advisory committees but usually does.Nearly 3.3 million Americans age 19 and younger used an ADHD drug last year, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc., a prescription drug benefit program manager.Psychiatrists and others had urged the committee to move cautiously before recommending strengthened warnings of heart attacks, hallucinations and other potential risks associated with the drugs.In February, the FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committee voted to recommend the agency add the strongest possible warning to some of the drugs, in that case to alert doctors, patients and parents of the uncertainty regarding the risk they may pose to the cardiovascular system.Adding black box warnings to some or all the drugs, which also include Adderall and Strattera, could cause more harm than good, some experts told the panel prior to the vote."I suggest conf...