Viratek Stock Posts Dramatic 1-Day Increase

Viratek Inc. was a strong performer on Wall Street on Wednesday, with common shares of the drug maker posting a 13% gain in price for the day. The Costa Mesa-based subsidiary of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is traded over the counter, closed Wednesday at $36.75 a share, up $4.25, on volume of 218,900 shares.

Also posting a strong showing Wednesday was ICN’s preferred stock, which increased 5% in price to close at $28.50 a share, up $1.50 on volume of 14,100 shares.

Company officials attributed the gain to the recent settlement between ICN and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which had criticized an ICN press kit as containing false and misleading information concerning the drug Virazole.

However, Eugene Melnitchenko, an analyst with the Dallas investment firm of Rauscher Pierce Refesnes Inc., said the gain resulted from a combination of rumors concerning results of clinical trials of Virazole among AIDS patients and possible near-term approval of the drug by Canadian authorities for treating an infant respiratory disease.

Another Orange County drug stock which chalked up strong gains Wednesday was NMS Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Newport Beach, which posted an overall gain in price of more than 14%. Traded over the counter, NMS gained 75 cents a share to close at $5.875. Volume was 204,700 shares.

On Tuesday, NMS announced it had won FDA approval to begin marketing to physicians its test kit for diagnosing strep throat.