Stock of ICN, Subsidiaries Falls Sharply

Shares of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. fell sharply amid heavy volume Friday after jittery speculators began selling the company’s stock, apparently out of fear that tests of ICN’s proprietary drug Virazole as an AIDS medication have not been successful.

In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, stock in the Costa Mesa-based company fell $5.625 to close at $18.75 a share. More than 2.1 million shares changed hands, making ICN the Big Board’s third most-active issue Friday.

Two of ICN’s publicly traded subsidiaries also were battered Friday. Viratek Inc. fell $12.50 a share in over-the-counter trading to close at $67.50 a share. SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is also traded over the counter, fell $4 to close at $27.75 a share.

ICN officials could not be reached for comment. However in a statement issued Friday, ICN said that clinical trials of Virazole on 350 AIDS and pre-AIDS patients “should be completed” by January, which is two months later than expected.

The news expected by most ICN watchers was that the tests had been completed and that the results were being forwarded to the Food and Drug Administration.

Instead, Friday’s statement was “a major disappointment for people who were expecting a positive announcement,” said. Lynn Pauls, an analyst with E.F. Hutton & Co. “To me, this is saying that what they have is inconclusive.”