Drug Maker’s Stock Skyrockets

Viratek Inc.’s stock shot up 48% Friday to $5 per share in double its normal trading volume, but officials of the ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. subsidiary said they were unaware of any reason for the stock’s rise.

“I know of no reason why the activity took place,” said John Giordani, chief financial officer for the Costa Mesa-based drug maker known principally for the anti-viral drug ribavirin.

He added that he also did not know of any party accumulating a chunk of stock in Viratek.

However, Jeff Kilpatrick, president of Newport Securities Corp. in Costa Mesa, said the stock’s unusual activity most likely was the result of one or more investors buying a substantial block of stock.

Kilpatrick noted that Viratek’s stock has a history of volatility, linked in large part to the company’s past efforts to market ribavirin as a treatment for AIDS patients.

After three years of disagreements with federal agencies over results of clinical tests, the company abandoned its efforts to market ribavirin as an anti-AIDS drug.