Shaman decomposes:
SHAMAN PHARMACEUTICALS RESTRUCTURES TO FOCUS ON VALUE OF SHAMAN
Botanicals
Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 1, 1999--Shaman
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SHMN) announced today that it intends to focus
its efforts on realizing value from the Shaman Botanicals portion of its
business.
Lisa Conte, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shaman Pharmaceuticals,
said, "Due to our recent conversations with the FDA, we felt we would face a
significant delay in bringing our first pharmaceutical product to market.
Given this delay, the company's current cash position, the generally hostile
environment for financing novel pharmaceutical products, and the nearer-term
potential we see in commercializing products through our Botanicals
business, we feel it is in our stockholders' best interest to have the
company refocus its efforts."
In order to conserve cash, the Company will immediately cease operations in
its pharmaceuticals business and will downsize by approximately 60 people,
or 65% of its workforce. Efforts will be made to outlicense some of the
current pharmaceutical programs, however, most of the company's efforts will
be directed toward realizing value through the Botanicals business. "Since
we see this as a significant step for the company, we intend to seek
stockholder approval in the near future to permit us to move assets and
operations from the public Shaman Pharmaceuticals into the privately-held
Shaman Botanicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaman Pharmaceuticals,"
continued Conte. The Company believes that its near-term operations will
better thrive in the simpler private structure and that its employees will
be able to focus their activities on the Botanicals opportunity. She
continued, "Obviously, our long term interest is in ultimately gaining
liquidity for our Shaman Pharmaceuticals stockholders, whether through a
spin-off of Botanicals, or otherwise. Once we have established a successful
Botanicals business model, including the introduction of near-term, novel
products through multiple channels of distribution, including the internet,
we believe that Botanicals may itself become a publicly-traded company."
Conte commented, "It is only because of the 10 years we have spent
developing the pharmaceutical business that we are now so well positioned to
enter the botanicals market. We have leveraged our proprietary
ethnobotanical approach to identify novel product candidates with the
potential for near-term revenue generation."
Managing the Botanicals business will be Conte, newly named as President and
Chief Operating Officer of Shaman Botanicals, and Loren Israelsen,
previously announced as interim CEO. Conte will also remain President and
CEO of Shaman Pharmaceuticals.
The Company also communicated that it is still in active discussions with a
potential partner for the outlicense of SP-303/Provir(TM). All
pharmaceutical assets of the company will be outlicensed or sold.
Shaman Botanicals, Inc. discovers, develops, and markets botanical dietary
supplements derived from tropical plant sources.
Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops novel pharmaceutical
products for major human diseases by isolating active compounds from
tropical plants with a history of medicinal use.
Note to Editors: Provir(TM) is a trademark of Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Shaman Pharmaceuticals(R) is a registered U.S. trademark of the company.
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