Here's another version from Dow Jones:
SAN DIEGO -(Dow Jones)- Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Allergan Inc.
Wednesday exercised their options to buy out public shareholders in their
Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics Inc. venture, giving each company
exclusive rights to certain compounds and technology developed in the
partnership.
Allergan (AGN), Irvine, Calif., manufactures and distributes surgical
products including products for small-incision cataract surgery, while Ligand
(LGND) develops gene transcription technology.
The Allergan Ligand joint venture was set up to develop retinoid therapies
targeting different tumours, skin ailments and eye diseases. Retinoids are
naturally occurring hormones, similiar to vitamin A, and are known to
regulate cellular activities.
Ligand said it will exercise its right to buy all the venture's callable
common shares for $21.97 each in cash and stock, or $71.4 million. Allergan
will then pay Ligand $8.9 million in cash to exercise its option to take a
50% interest in the assets and technologies of Allergan Ligand Retinoid
Therapeutics.
Shares of the joint venture closed unchanged Wednesday at $19.44.
Ligand and Allergan will each take undisclosed charges related to exercising
their options under the partnership, which came public in 1994.
Ligend said that together with Allergan it will restructure the terms and
conditions relating to research, development, commercialization and
sublicense rights for Allergan Ligand Retinoid following the end of the
options exercise.
Ligand said it will exercise the option with a combination of at least $25
million cash and as much as $46.4 million worth of its shares.
Ligand will file to register enough of its common shares to excercise the
stock option. After the deal closes, the company said, it will split any net
cash from Allergan Ligand Retinoid with Allergan.
Allergan Ligand Retinoid reported cash and equivalents of $31.7 million at
the end of the second quarter.
Ligand said each company received exclusive rights to various Allergan Ligand
Retinoid compounds and each party will pay royalties to the other on net
sales of its respective compounds.
Late last month, Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics said it stopped an
international late-stage trial of a topical gel for AIDS-related Kaposi's
sarcoma and will give the drug to all patients after the medicine showed very
positive results.
It said that out of 82 patients in the study, 42% achieved complete or
partial response to the gel, while patients on a placebo showed only a 7%
response.
Patients currently enrolled in the trial will be allowed to enroll in the
"open label" trial after finishing their assigned treatment, which gives the
gel, called Panretin, to all patients.
The gel shrank skin lesions associated with Kaposi's sarcoma, which is a type
of skin cancer that can afflict people with AIDS. |
