Shares of pharmaceutical company Vivus Inc. (VVUS) lost 58 percent of their value to $5.12 for the biggest decline in Russell 2000 Index. The plunge came after an FDA panel declined to approve the company’s experimental weight-loss drug ‘Qnexa’, a drug that potentially could have been the first new prescription diet pill in more than a decade and company’s biggest seller. The FDA panel voted 10-6 against approving the drug because of safety concerns, which include, birth defects, possible depression, memory and concentration lapses and heart-related issues.
In a statement, Vivus CEO Leland Wilson said he was “disappointed with the Advisory Committee’s vote” and said “we remain committed to patients living with obesity and weight-related disease.”
Shares of Vivus were down $7.00, or 58%, to $5.20 at 1:56pm ET on Friday. VVUS shares have traded between $4.90 and $13.68 over the last 52 weeks.
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