Shareholders Of INEX Pharmaceuticals Approve Spin Out Of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Timothy M. Ruane, President and Chief Executive Officer of INEX, said the shareholder vote is a strong endorsement of the spin-out of Tekmira to build on INEX's past accomplishments. "Tekmira will take advantage of the recent successes at INEX including the signing of two significant partnerships and the development of a promising oligonucleotide drug candidate."
Closing of the transaction is now subject to certain regulatory and court approvals, including transferring an ongoing legal dispute between INEX and Protiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. from INEX to Tekmira. The dispute with Protiva relates to rights of certain drug delivery technology for the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA), a new class of oligonucleotide drugs. As part of contractual agreements that created Protiva in 2001, INEX retained all rights to the delivery of oligonucleotides, including siRNA. The spin-out of Tekmira is dependent on approvals by the court to transfer the litigation from INEX to Tekmira. INEX believes these court hearings will take place before the end of October.
The completion of the spin-out of Tekmira will allow INEX, having no pharmaceutical assets, to complete a financing with an investor group led by Sheldon Reid, a co-founder of Energy Capitol Resources Ltd. ("Investor Group"). The Investor Group will invest up to $5.6 million in INEX by way of convertible debentures. Upon conversion of the debenture following the completion of the reorganization, the Investor Group will hold 100% of non-voting shares in INEX and 80% of the total number of shares outstanding. Therefore, current INEX common shareholders will own 20% of the equity of INEX and 100% of the Tekmira shares. The Investor Group plans to raise additional capital and acquire a new business for INEX. The money received by INEX as part of the corporate reorganization will be paid to the previous holders of INEX's convertible debt as per the note purchase and settlement agreement announced June 20, 2006.
Ruane added, "We are confident that we will be successful in having the ongoing legal dispute with Protiva transferred from INEX to Tekmira and we aim to close the transaction as soon as possible following the court decisions."
About INEX
INEX is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing proprietary drugs and drug delivery systems to improve the treatment of cancer. Further information about INEX can be found www.inexpharm.com.
Forward Looking Statements
There are forward-looking statements contained herein that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, INEX's stage of development, lack of product revenues, additional capital requirements, risks associated with the completion of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market INEX's products, the ability to protect its intellectual property and dependence on collaborative partners. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments.
CONTACT: Investors: Ian Mortimer, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Phone: (604) 419-3200, Email: info@inexpharm.com, Website: www.inexpharm.com; Media: Karen Cook Boas, James Hoggan & Associates Inc., Phone: (604) 739-7500, Email: kcook@hoggan.com
Source: Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation