Since it floated four years ago, Galen has been one of the market's darlings, rising from a flotation price of £1.50 sterling (€2.4) to a high last year of £9.78.

But in the past few weeks, Galen has hit the rapids and fallen from a 2001 high of £9.63 to a low of £7.38 on persistent talk in the market that the integration of last year's £190 million Warner Chilcott acquisition has been difficult.

Galen chose to ignore the rumours, presumably hoping that they would go away. They didn't and it's worth noting that chairman Mr John King broke his silence this week with a strong attack on the rumourmongers.

He told the Guardian: "It's beyond my comprehension why people should say some of these things. The performance of Warner Chilcott since acquisition has been excellent and continues to be excellent." On staying silent while the rumours circulated, he said: "We're not prepared to get into a discussion with these people. The best way to demonstrate that things are going well is to get our heads down and get on with things."

Galen finally saw a recovery this week, and boosted by the approval in the UK of its intravaginal ring for HRT treatment, the shares have put in a strong rally. Whether a forward p/e of more than 38 is justified remains to be seen as it leaves Galen on a sizeable premium to most international pharmaceutical stocks.