Shares in Oxford GlycoSciences plummeted after a City analyst recommended investors to sell, writes Maggie Hartford.

Chief executive Michael Kranda said the recommendation was based on a letter to medical journal The Lancet casting doubt on clinical trial results of OGS's potential treatment for Gaucher's disease, a rare inherited condition.

Company scientists had refuted the letter writer's points, said Mr Kranda, and independent experts had concluded that the treatment should be investigated further. "I am sure that the share price will go up again," he said.