Investors continued to beat a hasty retreat from Arpida's stock after analysts raised doubts about any quick approval of its new antibiotic iclaprim and cautioned that the company would likely need to raise more money.
"We believe the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee is unlikely to approve the drug," said Goldman Sachs. "(The company) is likely to need to raise additional net cash in 2009."
Arpida, though, said it has plenty of money to get well into the second half of next year, even without an FDA approval. It also cited a decision from the European Union that is likely to arrive in the middle of 2009. An FDA advisory committee is meeting this week to review several antibiotics. Arpida shares plunged yesterday after FDA staffers released documents raising doubts about iclaprim's efficacy and safety.
- read the report from Hemscott