Shire's attention deficit disorder blow.

Investors Chronicle, June, 2006

The controversy over the safety of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, including Shire's Adderall XR, was renewed this week following the results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Using US government figures, the report estimates that 3,000 patients sought emergency treatment in 2004 due to side-effects or accidental overdoses from ADHD treatment. US regulators are working on potential label changes for the drugs.

This is unlikely to affect sales of Adderall, which already has a black-box warning on the label. So, at 778.5p, the shares look fairly priced.