Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. almost doubled in New York trading after a U.S. panel backed the drugmaker’s plan to sell an inhaled antipsychotic drug that may put some patients at risk for respiratory failure. Alexza surged 70 percent to $1.06 at 8:13 a.m., after earlier climbing to $1.14, a day after outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the agency approve a single daily dose of Adasuve for schizophrenia and bipolar mania. The 9-8 vote, in Adelphi, Maryland, was contingent on the company using a risk mitigation plan proposed by the FDA.
