Columbia Laboratories Inc. (CBRX) fell the most in almost five years after U.S. regulators said the company’s progesterone gel to reduce the risk of preterm birth isn’t effective. Columbia Labs dropped 54 percent to $1.10 at the close in New York, the biggest single-day decline since Feb. 5, 2007. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI), a partner on the drug, fell 6.8 percent to $57.98, the greatest single-day loss in almost three years. “The information and data in this application do not support the efficacy of progesterone gel compared with placebo in reducing the risk of preterm births before 33 completed weeks,” Food and Drug Administration staff wrote in a Dec. 22 report released today.
