Targanta shares need antibiotics

Another company that is taking a hit in the wallet following bad trial news is Targanta Therapeutics. Shares in the company fell 43.6 percent yesterday afternoon and hit a 52-week low earlier in the day, following the FDA's statement that it agrees with an advisory panel's recommendation for more testing of its antibiotic, oritavancin.

Tangenta is hoping to use oritavancin, which was first Eli Lilly's project, to treat complex skin infections, especially those that involve drug-resistant staph organisms, but FDA says it needs to keep on testing.

The FDA questioned both the safety and efficacy by the drug, raising serious concerns about increased risks of septic shock and death.

- read more at Forbes.com