Hungary Gives Approval to Use ICN’s Ribavirin : Health care: Along with Ireland, it becomes the second European nation to allow the drug in AIDS virus therapy. The firm’s stock goes up to $15.50.

COSTA MESA —  ICN Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday that a second European nation has approved its drug ribavirin for use in treating the AIDS virus.

Hungary’s National Institute of Pharmacy in Budapest follows Ireland’s health authority in allowing HIV-infected patients to be given ribavirin, also known by the trade name of Virazole. This approval comes 2 1/2 years after ICN ceased efforts to win permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for using Virazole for the treatment of those with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.

“We believe the authorization in Hungary is an important and significant step in that it shows another nation acknowledges the therapeutic usefulness of Virazole in the treatment of AIDS,” ICN spokesman Jack Sholl said.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday suffered a drop of 41.15 points to close at 2,931.57, Wall Street traders reacted positively to ICN’s announcement. The company’s stock rose $1.37 to close at $15.50 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. Several ICN-related companies also saw their stocks increase in value.

Nevertheless, some analysts cautioned against putting too much importance on Hungary’s acceptance.

“They’ve had a lot of ups and downs around the world with that product,” said Mark Matheson, research director at Newport Beach investment banker Cruttenden & Co. “Just because Hungary has approved it doesn’t mean anybody else will.”

Just last month, the company settled claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission--without admitting any wrongdoing--that it misled the public about ribavirin’s efficacy in fighting HIV.

ICN said it has several pending applications to sell ribavirin for treatment of HIV patients in other European countries but would not identify them.

So far, the sale of ribavirin in Ireland has been sluggish, according to Sholl.

“It has been slow to become established in Ireland to this point, since there is a competitive drug (AZT) on the market there,” Sholl added, while declining to provide specific sales figures.

Hungary based its approval, in part, on research conducted by a Budapest doctor, Ferenc Varnai.

About 20 HIV patients in a Varnai study were given 800 milligrams of ribavirin over a 16-week period. The condition of those patients did not worsen during the four-month clinical trial, according to Sholl. In fact, Sholl said, their T-cell count--a measure of the immune system’s strength--actually improved.