FDA review of NeurogesX HIV pain patch hits stock hard

FDA reviewers raised questions about a pain patch that NeurogesX Inc. wants to sell for HIV-associated nerve damage, sending the San Mateo company’s stock down 24 percent lower by mid-Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration’s staff said in briefing documents Tuesday that a study of the pain patch, called Qutenza,, failed to show superiority for the 60-minute application of the patch compared to low-dose capsaicin in a control group.
A 30-minute application was superior, the reviewers said.