BRIEFS

FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
07-04-2006

BRIEFS
FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
Date: 07-04-2006, Tuesday
Section: BUSINESS
Edtion: All Editions
Column: BRIEFS

Sanofi factory discards unsterile flu shot materials

BRIDGEWATER — The only U.S. flu-shot factory failed sterility tests in a government inspection, forcing the operator, Sanofi-Aventis SA, to discard vaccine materials made for the next influenza season.

The contamination affected about 5 percent of this year's batches of a flu-shot component produced between February and April at Sanofi's site in Swiftwater, Pa., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday in a warning letter on its Web site.

Paris-based Sanofi, whose U.S. operations are in Bridgewater, failed to correct the "objectionable conditions" after more than two months of talks, FDA officials said.

The contamination probably was caused by a faulty filtration system and no contamination has occurred since the problem was corrected in April, said David Johnson, Sanofi's director for scientific and medical affairs. None of the unsterile vaccine had been sold.

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Citigroup gives Vonage a risky investment rating

HOLMDEL — Vonage Holdings Corp. underwriter Citigroup Inc. rated the Internet-phone company "hold," indicating that the shares aren't worth buying even after they plunged by half since the initial public offering in May.

Some factors making the stock risky are lawsuits filed by some customers, and a free-month promotion, Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins said Monday in a note presenting his first rating on the stock since the IPO.

Citigroup is the first of the underwriters to issue a report on Holmdel-based Vonage, which debuted as the worst IPO this year. The shares have tumbled 49 percent to $8.60 from their initial sale price of $17. Some customers who bought shares have refused to pay for them and at least nine lawsuits have been filed, with allegations including failure to disclose certain risks.

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No eBay bid's good enough for Crazy Eddie's trademark

NEW YORK — Crazy Eddie's prices were once touted as "insane," but the owner of the long-defunct chain's trademark is unwilling to give it up for a discount.

An eBay Inc. auction of the electronics chain's trademark and domain name ended Sunday with no bidders reaching an undisclosed reserve price, the eBay Web site showed Monday. The highest bid was for $30,100, which did not meet the minimum set by Trident Growth Fund LP, the Houston-based owner. Bids were offered by 32 participants.

The Crazy Eddie chain started as a single family-owned store in Brooklyn and eventually collapsed in 1987 amid federal investigations and family infighting.

Investors lost about $250 million in what was one of the nation's largest stock swindles at the time.

— From news service reports

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