Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,607,053 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Enzon to Eliminate Its Remaining 2008 Convertible Debt.


Company monetizes a portion of its PEG-INTRON royalty stream for $92.5MM

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. -- Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENZN) today announced the sale of a 25% interest in its royalty from PEG-INTRON([R]), marketed by Schering-Plough Corporation for $92.5 million to Drug Royalty Corporation, Inc. (DRC DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
DRC Down (Stage) Right Center
DRC Director(ate) of Reserve Components
DRC Disability Rights Commission (United Kingdom) 
). Enzon is also entitled en·ti·tle  
tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles
1. To give a name or title to.

2. To furnish with a right or claim to something:
 to receive an additional one-time milestone payment of $15 million in 2012 should certain royalty recognition levels be met for PEG-INTRON. A portion of the proceeds will be used for retirement in full of Enzon's outstanding 4.5% Convertible Notes due 2008. Enzon will retain a 75% interest in the PEG-INTRON royalty, as well as 100% of their other current royalties and any new royalties the company receives.

To date, Enzon has already reduced the outstanding amount of its 2008 convertible debt to $81.9 million through a series of successful open market repurchases at a discount to par.

"Today's announcement is a result of a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of our options to extinguish Extinguish

Retire or pay off debt.
 our debt due in 2008," said Jeffrey H. Buchalter, chairman and chief executive officer of Enzon. "This transaction now fully removes any risk associated with repayment of the 2008 convertible note, and allows Enzon to continue to focus on its goal of building an innovative oncology oncology /on·col·o·gy/ (ong-kol´ah-je) the sum of knowledge regarding tumors; the study of tumors.

on·col·o·gy
n.
 company."

Currently, Enzon earns royalties on three marketed products that are successfully utilizing Enzon's proprietary PEGylation platform, namely PEG-INTRON, Pegasys, and Macugen.

PEG-INTRON is a PEG-enhanced version of Schering-Plough's alpha interferon interferon (ĭn'tərfēr`ŏn), any of a group of proteins produced by cells in the body in response to an attack by a virus. A cell infected by a virus releases minute amounts of interferons, which attach themselves to neighboring cells,  product, INTRON Intron

In split genes, a portion that is included in ribonucleic acid (RNA) transcripts but is removed from within a transcript during RNA processing and is rapidly degraded.
([R]) A, which is used both as a monotherapy monotherapy /mono·ther·a·py/ (-ther´ah-pe) treatment of a condition by means of a single drug.

mon·o·ther·a·py
n.
Treatment of a disorder with a single drug.
 and in combination with REBETOL([R]) (ribavirin ribavirin /ri·ba·vi·rin/ (ri?bah-vi´rin) a broad-spectrum antiviral used in the treatment of severe viral pneumonia caused by respiratory syncytial virus, particularly in high-risk infants; also used in conjunction with interferon ) capsules for the treatment of chronic hepatitis Chronic hepatitis
Long lasting inflammation of the liver due to viruses or other causes.

Mentioned in: Tube Compression of the Esophagus and Stomach

chronic hepatitis 
 C. Under our license agreement with Schering-Plough, Schering-Plough holds an exclusive worldwide license to PEG-INTRON, and Enzon receives royalties on worldwide sales of PEG-INTRON. Schering-Plough is responsible for all manufacturing, marketing, and development activities for PEG-INTRON. Enzon designed PEG-INTRON to allow for less frequent dosing and to yield greater efficacy, as compared to INTRON A. PEG-INTRON is marketed worldwide by Schering-Plough and its affiliates.

About Enzon

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development, manufacturing, commercialization of important medicines for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions. Enzon has a portfolio of four marketed products, Oncaspar([R]), DepoCyt([R]), Abelcet([R]) and Adagen([R]). The Company's drug development programs utilize several cutting-edge approaches, including its industry-leading PEGylation technology platform used to create product candidates with benefits such as reduced dosing frequency and less toxicity toxicity /tox·ic·i·ty/ (tok-sis´i-te) the quality of being poisonous, especially the degree of virulence of a toxic microbe or of a poison. . Enzon's PEGylation technology was used to develop two of its products, Oncaspar and Adagen, and has created a royalty revenue stream from licensing partnerships for other products developed using the technology. Enzon also engages in contract manufacturing for several pharmaceutical companies to broaden the Company's revenue base. Further information about Enzon and this press release can be found on the Company's web site at www.enzon.com.

About Drug Royalty Corporation, Inc. (DRC)

Drug Royalty Corporation ("DRC") is a privately held investment management company, focused on the healthcare industry, with over $1 billion under management. DRC currently manages two funds: the Royalty Monetization Monetization

The securitization of the gross revenues of a contract.
 Fund and the Structured Finance Fund.

Its Royalty Monetization Fund acquires existing royalty streams at competitive rates from companies, institutions and inventors. DRC is a leader in monetizing royalties, having acquired over $750 million in royalty-based cash flows on commercialized products. Its Structured Finance Fund will soon close with approximately $300 million in committed capital. This Fund provides predominantly non-dilutive financing for product acquisitions and launches, M & A, in-licensing, sales force expansion and general working capital purposes to companies within the healthcare industry. The Fund invests in cash flow monetization structures which can include debt and equity components, custom tailored to fit the needs of clients.

Forward Looking Statements

There are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement

A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections.
 contained herein, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should", "potential," "anticipates," "plans" or "intends" and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from the future results, events or developments indicated in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to the timing, success and cost of clinical studies; the ability to obtain regulatory approval of products, market acceptance of, and continuing demand for, Enzon's products and the impact of competitive products and pricing. A more detailed discussion of these and other factors that could affect results is contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K Form 10-K

A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information.


Form 10-K

See 10-K.
 for the year ended December 31, 2006 and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q

See 10-Q.
. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that the future results covered by the forward-looking statements will be achieved. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release and Enzon does not intend to update this information.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:Aug 20, 2007
Words:835
Previous Article:Aqua America Subsidiary Acquires Ohio Water System.
Next Article:Doral Financial Announces Effectiveness of 1-for-20 Reverse Stock Split.
Topics:



Related Articles
Justice Dept. backs church college aid in Colorado.
Nigeria's Decision Makers - The NNPC Structure.
Low Cost Airline News - Europe.
Company Watch - Air Berlin.
The 5Ss to keeping Lean on course: without a robust 5S discipline, a Lean system is rendered ineffective.
GALACTIC SHIFT? BECKHAM'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST D.C. UNITED SPARKS HOPE THAT HE CAN LEAD L.A. TO MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYOFFS.
DRIVE TIME: DODGE CHARGER CHP BUYS CHARGERS FOR FLEET MOST OF THE 88 CARS PURCHASED WILL BE USED UNDERCOVER.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP.
Yokogawa Electric 2007 Annual Report to Stakeholders, 'Strategic Initiatives for Excellence'.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles