Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : ARRIS - Another partner -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chirodoc who wrote (338)	1/7/1998 3:05:00 PM
From: Andrew H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 353

Its a deal folks--we have a new company!!! This deal will go down in history as the first of many mergers uniting genetics, drug screening, drug discovery and drug production and trials. Wednesday January 7, 1:33 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release Sequana Shareholders Approve Merger LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1998--Sequana Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNA - news) Wednesday announced that it has received shareholder approval for the company's planned merger with Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:ARRS - news), pursuant to which Sequana will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Arris. The combined company will be named AxyS Pharmaceuticals Inc. and will trade on the Nasdaq National Market System. Voting results were recorded at Sequana's Special Meeting of Shareholders held Wednesday in La Jolla. Of the shares represented at the meeting, greater than 93 percent voted in favor of the transaction. The merger, described in a press release issued jointly by Sequana and Arris on Nov. 3, 1997, is expected to close in early January, subject to certain approvals by Arris shareholders. ''We are pleased with the overwhelming confidence our shareholders have expressed to the board and management team regarding Sequana's decision to join forces with Arris and form an integrated gene-to-drug company,'' said Kevin J. Kinsella, president and chief executive officer of Sequana. Sequana Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNA - news) is a leading genomics company that uses industrial-scale gene discovery and functional genomics technologies to develop products aimed at diagnosing and treating common human diseases. Sequana has ongoing discovery programs in asthma, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, schizophrenia and manic depression, among other important disease areas, and has scientific collaborations with several major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. Sequana employs approximately 200 people at its headquarters in La Jolla and at its subsidiary, NemaPharm Inc., in Cambridge, Mass. Information about Sequana may be obtained on the World Wide Web at sequana.com or by phoning 619/452-6550. The statements in this news release relating to the planned merger are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, including Arris' ability to obtain certain approvals from its shareholders. For a discussion of the other risks and uncertainties potentially affecting Sequana's and Arris' business, see the companies' Joint Proxy Statement and Prospectus dated Dec. 3, 1997. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these or other factors. AND Wednesday January 7, 2:22 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release Arris Acquisition of Sequana Approved New Company To Be Named AXYS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1998--Arris Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ:ARRS - news) announced that its shareholders have approved all of the proposals associated with its proposed acquisition of Sequana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SQNA - news). The transaction is expected to close later this week. Once consummated, the combined entity will be re-named AXYS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and will begin trading on the Nasdaq National Market under a new trading symbol ''AXPH''. John Walker, Arris' chief executive officer, stated, ''Not only did we receive in excess of the 50 percent of shares outstanding needed in order for this transaction to be completed, we are pleased to note that a large majority voted in favor. Our shareholders clearly recognized and endorsed the view of management and our board of directors as to the long-term value of the combination of corporate people and partners. ''What remains now is to close the transaction and to focus our energies on the integration of the two companies and to deliver on the promise. We look forward to putting the uncertainty behind us and in concert with our shareholders and employees, to broadening the interest in the company and gaining the market capitalization appropriate for a company with the size and scope of AXYS,'' Walker concluded. Arris originally announced its intention to acquire Sequana Therapeutics on November 3, 1997. As consideration for the transaction, Arris will issue 1.35 shares of Arris Common Stock for each share of Sequana Common Stock, for a total issuance of approximately 15,000,000 shares of Arris Common Stock for all the outstanding shares of stock of Sequana. The acquisition will be accounted for as a ''purchase'' and is expected to qualify as a tax-free reorganization.