UPDATE - Millennium Pharmaceutical may sell XOMA shares
Tuesday March 16, 4:40 pm ET
(Adds Millennium comment, updates XOMA share price)
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - XOMA Ltd. (NasdaqNM:XOMA - News) on Tuesday filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (News - Websites) to register 5 million common shares that may offered for sale by Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqNM:MLNM - News).
XOMA, which is based in Berkeley, California, filed a shelf registration with the SEC, saying that Millennium will receive all the proceeds from the sale of the registered shares.
Millennium and Xoma are developing a drug together designed to reduce post-operative death and heart attacks in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
They entered into an agreement in November 2001 to collaborate on the development of two compounds for vascular inflammation.
Under the agreement, Berkeley, California-based Xoma is responsible for development activities and related costs through the completion of mid-stage, or Phase II, clinical trials.
Millennium also under the agreement had committed to purchase, at XOMA's option, up to $50 million worth of XOMA shares, through a combination of convertible debt and equity at then-prevailing market prices.
Millennium said it had purchased 16 million XOMA shares since 2001, but does not currently own any XOMA stock.
"Generally we don't hold marketable securities, but we will evaluate, depending on market conditions, once we receive the stock," Millennium spokeswoman Adriana Jenkins said.
XOMA did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
XOMA shares closed down 24 cents, or 4.3 percent, at $5.40 on Nasdaq. |
