FDA Advisers Clear Vivus Obesity Drug

Shares of the Mountain View, Calif.-based biotech firm Vivus nearly doubled last week after an FDA advisory committee recommended approval of its obesity pill Qnexa. In October 2010, FDA rejected Qnexa over concerns about the risk of cardiovascular events and birth defects. Last year, Vivus resubmitted its application for Qnexa, which combines the already approved drugs topiramate and phentermine, to include a postapproval monitoring strategy. FDA still has to give a final decision on the drug, but approval is “pretty much a done deal,” says Cowen & Co. stock analyst Simos Simeonidis.