Biomatrix is moving to the NYSE and had a great move UP on Friday as the drug stock were selling off!
Friday May 29, 10:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Biomatrix, Inc.
Biomatrix Announces Clearance to Move to the New York Stock Exchange;
Company Also Obtains Financing to Accelerate Master Facilities Plan
RIDGEFIELD, N.J., May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- BIOMATRIX, INC. (Nasdaq: BIOX -
news) announced today at its annual meeting that the company has
received a letter of clearance from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
to list the company's common stock on the NYSE. Upon formal filing and
acceptance of the application to the NYSE, Biomatrix' common stock is
expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange during the
summer of 1998, and the company has reserved the ticker symbol: ''BXM.''
Until such time, the company will continue to trade on the Nasdaq
National Market under its current symbol: ''BIOX.''
According to Dr. Endre A. Balazs, M.D., chief executive officer and
chief scientific officer of Biomatrix, ''We are pleased to have been
accepted for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. We believe our
clearance by the 'Big Board' indicates the progress we have made as a
company in expanding our revenue base and global presence. To be listed
on the largest and most prestigious stock market in the world is an
important milestone for Biomatrix. Listing on the NYSE should enhance
shareholder value by providing the Company with greater worldwide
visibility and more stable stock trading activity through a centralized
Biomatrix market specialist.''
The company also reported that in order to meet the schedule for its
facility expansion plans, Biomatrix issued $15,000,000 of subordinated
convertible debt to a third party. The debt has a five-year term and a
coupon rate of 6.9% with interest payable on a semi-annual basis. The
debt contains a conversion feature that allows the third party to
convert the debt into common shares at $40 per share after one year.
Dr. Balazs commented on the company's expansion plans, ''Our recent
financing allows us to accelerate our building project which is an
important component to managing our anticipated growth.''
Synvisc(R), Biomatrix' innovative treatment for osteoarthritis of the
knee that received FDA clearance to market in August 1997, is marketed
in the U.S. and certain European Countries by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
and is represented internationally through marketing and distribution
agreements with a number of large multi-national pharmaceutical
companies including Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hoffman La Roche,
Novartis Pharma AG, and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. In addition, Biomatrix
manufactures and sells through distributors several other viscoelastic
products: Hylaform(R) for the correction of facial wrinkles and
depressed scars is marketed in 21 countries by Collagen Corp [Nasdaq:
CGEN - news].; Gelvisc(R) Vet for the treatment of arthritis in animals;
two Hylashield(R) products for the protection of the surface of the eye
from noxious environmental conditions; and several polymers for the skin
care industry.
Biomatrix, Inc., headquartered in Ridgefield, New Jersey is an
international biomedical company that develops, manufactures and
commercializes viscoelastic products made from proprietary biological
polymers called hylans, used in therapeutic medical applications and in
skin care products.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the
regulatory approval process, obtaining and enforcing patents,
manufacturing capabilities, product liability, and other risks detailed
in Biomatrix' reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act, including
Forms 10-Q and Biomatrix' annual report on Form 1O-K for the year ended
December 31, 1997. For more information on Biomatrix, please visit the
Company's web site at www.biomatrix.com.
SOURCE: Biomatrix, Inc. |
