AstraZeneca shares have gained more than two per cent as investors cheer US approval for Crestor, a pill the company bills as the most potent cholesterol-fighter in a multibillion-dollar market.
Europe's second-largest drugmaker said it expected to start selling Crestor, its biggest new drug hope in the world's top market for medicines, within three weeks.
Industry analysts estimate Crestor's sales could eventually top $3 billion a year as it battles Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug, and other medicines known as statins.
AstraZeneca shares were up 52p, or 2.1 per cent, at £25.41 after touching £25.60, their highest level for three weeks.
Dealers said the stock market reaction was muted since the approval had been widely expected after an FDA advisory committee recommended the drug last month.
Crestor could be a major boost to help AstraZeneca make up for declining sales of ulcer pill Losec, which is sold as Prilosec in the United States and now faces generic competition. Crestor already is on sale in Canada and several European countries.
The US launch of Crestor is expected to unleash one of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest marketing battles, which analysts believe will pressure near-term margins at the Anglo-Swedish company.
"It is likely to be one of the more expensive launches... I would have thought easily over $1 billion during the launch phase," said Mr Stewart Adkins of Lehman Brothers.