Staccato deal cut short

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE:VRX; TSX:VRX) returned rights in the U.S. and Canada to Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXA) for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia candidate Staccato loxapine ( AZ-004). Valeant gained rights to the program through its merger with Biovail Corp. this year, but decided not to continue the project after a review of the merged company's pipelines, according to Alexza. FDA issued a complete response letter this month for AZ-004 to treat agitation in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Alexza intends to seek one or more pharmaceutical partners for the worldwide development and commercialization of the product. AZ-004 is loxapine delivered by Alexza's Staccato system inhaler. ...