SHIRE BOOSTED BY CORE DRUGS

Strong growth from its Adderall XR attention disorder treatment helped Shire Pharmaceuticals lift second quarter profits by 25% and up its estimate of revenue growth for the year as a whole. Earnings per share in the three months to June rose from 18.4c to 23c, with revenues up by 32% at $425m. Profits from continuing operations were $116.2m up from $89.5m. Chief executive Matthew Emmens added that revenues for the full year should show low double-digit growth, a slight upgrade on its earlier estimate.

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