Phytopharm Broker Quits over Animal Rights Attack
Date: 24-Jun-05
Country: UK
Phytopharm shares dropped as much as 22 percent on Thursday on fears it could be the target of further action by animal rights activists, who hounded animal experimenting firm Huntingdon Life Sciences off the London stock market.
A Web site linked to the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) said it had planted an incendiary device under the car of a senior UK manager at Canaccord in May.
A Phytopharm spokesman said the attack was behind Canaccord's decision to resign as joint sponsor and broker to the firm.
The ALF Web site said Phytopharm was a customer of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), which moved its headquarters to the United States in 2001 after a sometimes violent campaign against its staff and property in the UK.
"You know the score. Phytopharm get out of HLS or see your share price crash and your supporters' property go up in flames," the ALF said.
However, Phytopharm, which specialises in developing drugs from plants, denied it had any links to HLS.
At 1000 GMT Phytopharm shares were down 17.3 percent at 93 pence, after touching a two-year low of 87-1/2p.
Britain widened a crackdown on animal rights extremists in January, proposing jail sentences of up to five years for protesters who obstruct experiments.
