Shares in Renovo Group plunged by more than 20 per cent yesterday after the expected launch of the company’s lead product, a scar treatment called Juvista, was put back by up to two years.

The setback came after the Manchester company said that Shire, its partner, would not push ahead with final-stage trials of the product, an injection to reduce scarring, despite promising Phase II test results. Instead, Shire will wait for a key European study before starting Phase III trials in the US. Samir Devani, an analyst at Nomura, cut his rating on Renovo to “buy”, from “strong buy”, noting that the potential launch of Juvista could be two years later than previously expected. The broker also said that Renovo may now need extra funding.

Renovo’s shares, which have been battered over the past year amid mixed results from earlier Juvista trials, fell 7½p to 27p.

Woolworths gained 0.08p to 7.1p despite a “sell” note from Seymour Pierce. Freddie George, the analyst, said he expected the existing offer from the Malcolm Walker consortium to falter, adding that with losses set to continue at the high street chain it would come close to breaching its bank covenants.

Fortune Oil, the Chinese oil and gas distribution and exploration company, rose ¼p to 10½p as interim results met expectations after the contribution from its natural gas business tripled. Fortune also said that its oil operations would continue to grow as China gradually allows the private sector to participate in solving its energy challenges.

Camco International, the carbon credit company, rose by 5½p to 59½p after an auction of 5.8 million metric tonnes worth of credits, which was four times oversubscribed. Camco will receive €15 million (£12 million) up front, plus a price per tonne of more than €15.

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