ICN Drug Firm, Units See Sharp Gains in Stocks

Although company officials insist that there is nothing happening to justify it, shares of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as those of its SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Viratek Inc. subsidiaries, turned in strong performances Wednesday, gaining 11% to 25.7% in market value.

All three Costa Mesa-based companies are involved in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the anti-viral drug Virazole, which is being tested as a possible treatment for AIDS.

Recording the largest increase for the day was SPI, which gained $7 per share in over-the-counter trading to close at $34.25, up 25.7%. SPI’s low for the year was $11 a share.

ICN Pharmaceuticals common stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, gained $2.125 a share to close at a 12-month high of $19.75 a share.

Viratek posted an 11.8% gain to close at $94.50 a share, up $10 for the day. The closing price was off $1 from a record high of $95.50 per share reached earlier in the day.

The value of Viratek’s shares especially has skyrocketed in recent months, largely because of apparently unfounded takeover rumors and investor optimism that Virazole will be approved for use against acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Since the beginning of May, Viratek’s shares have more than tripled in price.

ICN’s $2.70 convertible preferred stock also posted a sizable gain Wednesday, up $4 per share, or 11%, to close at a 12-month high of $40.25.

Eugene Melnitchenko, who follows drug stocks for the Dallas brokerage firm of Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc., attributed the continued upward spiral to investors who are betting on Virazole’s being approved as an AIDS treatment.