Monday, May 13, 2013

Impax shares tank as FDA flags fresh concerns on manufacturing plant

March 4 (Reuters) - Impax Laboratories Inc said U.S. health regulators raised fresh concerns related to manufacturing practices at the drugmaker's Hayward, California facility, sending its shares down more than 20 percent after the bell.

The company's hopes of securing an approval for its Parkinson's drug Rytari are tied to its ability to resolve issues at the plant, where the drug is partly manufactured.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its re-inspection of the Hayward facility and outlined 12 "observations", three of which had already been pointed in earlier communications, Impax said on Monday.

The regulator typically outlines observations from conditions that may constitute violations of standard manufacturing practices.

The FDA had rejected approval to Rytari in January, pending a satisfactory re-inspection of the Hayward facility.

"We have committed significant resources in our efforts to meet FDA requirements and are clearly disappointed by this news," Impax Chief Executive Larry Hsu said.

The FDA first expressed concerns related to the facility in a warning letter in June 2011.

The company said on Monday the FDA did not inform it on the impact the new concerns would have on resolving the warning letter, or if the agency planned to take further regulatory action.

Impax plans to respond to the FDA's new observations within 15 business days.

The company's shares, which were halted pending the release of its statement, fell about 21 percent to $15.80 in after-market trading on Monday afternoon.

(Reporting By Vrinda Manocha in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

((Vrinda.Manocha@thomsonreuters.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800)(Reuters Messaging: vrinda.manocha.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: IMPAX FDA/


View the original article here

0 comments:

Post a Comment