UPDATE 1-U.S. panel votes against Arpida antibiotic

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NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. regulatory panel has voted against recommending approval of Arpida's ARPN.S intravenous antibiotic iclaprim, the Swiss biotech company said on Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration committee rejected the drug by 17 to two votes for the treatment of patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections.

The FDA, which is due to give a final decision on the medicine by Jan. 16, is not bound by the advisory committee's recommendations but usually draws heavily on its advice when making decisions.

Arpida has limited cash as it does not yet have a product on the market and investors had been hoping for a swift approval for iclaprim, particularly given the difficulty of raising more funds in such tough markets.

Arpida's shares have plummeted this week, losing more than half of their value on concerns that the FDA would not approve iclaprim, the company's lead drug candidate. (Reporting by Sam Cage and Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Cowell)