Covid Pill Birth Defect Risk Sinks Pharma Stock by Most in Decade
- Merck’s rival pill also linked to fetal harm in animal tests
- Approval would give Japan a domestic antiviral Covid treatment
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Shionogi & Co. slumped the most in more than a decade after the drugmaker said studies on animals showed its experimental Covid drug disturbed fetal development, triggering concerns about its approval.
The stock fell as much as 16% in Tokyo trading Wednesday, the biggest intraday decline since March 2011. Shionogi shares are down 8.4% this year through yesterday.