Vital Living Stops Marketing Anthrax Test

Vital Living Products Inc. said it halted marketing of its anthrax test kit the day after its main offices were raided by FBI agents executing a search warrant.

Vital Living shares plunged 24 cents, or 55%, to 20 cents in over-the-counter trading.

The Securities and Exchange Commission already is investigating Vital Living. Its shares soared 40-fold last month as the company issued news releases announcing the anthrax kit and a distribution agreement with Ace Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill. Ace, the No. 2 U.S. hardware store cooperative, said it didn’t agree to carry the kits.