Local Digest

PHARMACEUTICALS

Vanda Shares Soar As FDA Approves Drug

Vanda Pharmaceuticals won U.S. approval for its first product, a drug to treat schizophrenia, the Food and Drug Administration said. Shares soared in extended Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

The FDA last summer delayed the initial application for the drug, known by its chemical name iloperidone, asking for more information. The Rockville-based company lost almost three-quarters of its market value in one day. Vanda, which closed at $1.08 in regular trading yesterday, soared to $9.98 in extended Nasdaq trading.

Vanda is entering the $15.8 billion market for drugs known as atypical antipsychotics by positioning iloperidone as a safe alternative.

-- Bloomberg News

CORPORATE BORROWING

Gannett Creditors To Extend Bonds

Gannett said bondholders agreed to extend maturities on $237 million of debt. The company said investors owning $44 million in notes due in 2011 and $193 million in notes due in 2012 tendered their holdings. "As a result of this opportunistic transaction, almost 25 percent of our outstanding bonds (exclusive of the May 2009 maturity) will have a maturity date extending into 2015 or 2016," Chief Financial Officer Gracia C. Martore said in a statement.

-- Bloomberg News

LEGAL

W.R. Grace Case Due to Jury Today

The jury will receive its instructions and attorneys for the defense, and the prosecution will present their final arguments today in the environmental-crimes trial of W.R. Grace and three former executives.

Defense attorneys rested their case yesterday.

The government alleges that Grace, of Columbia, and three former executives conspired to hide health risks posed by asbestos in vermiculite extracted from the company's mine in Libby, Mont. The mine closed in 1990.

-- Associated Press