NexMed Shares Plunge As Novartis Declines To Seek FDA Approval For Nail Fungus Drug

Aug 28, 2008 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- NVS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- August 28, 2008 (FinancialWire) Shares of drug developer NexMed Inc. (NASDAQ: NEXM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) plunged 81.6 percent after the company said its development partner, Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS), will not ask for regulatory approval of a developing nail fungus treatment.

The company said Novartis based its decision on late-stage clinical studies. The companies have been partners since 2005, when Novartis assumed all responsibility for developing and eventually selling the drug candidate, NM100060. The deal included $4 million upfront, with potential payments later totaling up to $47 million.

NexMed has said a European study is still going on and it expects results in the middle of 2009.

Shares of NexMed fell $1.11 to close at 25 cents. It traded as low as 23 cents earlier in the day, its lowest price in more than a decade. Shares of Novartis AG rose 54 cents to close at $55.25.

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