VANCOUVER, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the Supreme Court of British Columbia has provided its ruling on the January 5 and 6, 2006 hearing that discussed INEX’s proposed Plan of Arrangement to spin out its Targeted Immunotherapy assets into a new company, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Tekmira”). The hearing discussed whether the plan can be completed given the terms of INEX’s outstanding convertible promissory notes as well as a bankruptcy petition brought forward by Stark Trading and Shepherd Investments International Ltd. (collectively “Stark”) on December 20, 2005.
The court dismissed the bankruptcy petition and ruled that the Plan of Arrangement can be completed given the terms of the convertible debt. The judge also ruled that the noteholders should be allowed to vote on the Plan of Arrangement. There will be a final court hearing on the Plan of Arrangement that will determine the fairness of the transaction and provide a final ruling on whether or not the transaction can be completed. The court commented that in its opinion a vote by the noteholders against the Plan of Arrangement would not necessarily be determinative of the outcome as there is authority for a court to ignore a dissenting vote in deciding whether to approve the plan. At the final hearing to approve the Plan of Arrangement, the court will consider the fairness of the Arrangement to all parties from a reasonable business perspective, not only what is fair from the perspective of the noteholders.
On January 26, 2006, shareholders of INEX voted 98.3% in favour of spinning out the immunotherapy assets to create Tekmira.
Timothy M. Ruane, President and Chief Executive Officer of INEX, said the next steps are to work towards the final fairness hearing and completing the Tekmira spin-out. “We are pleased that the court has dismissed the bankruptcy petition and provided clarity that we can move forward towards completing the spin-out of Tekmira. Over the next few weeks, we expect to be able to provide more details on the court hearing required to complete the transaction as well as the results of yesterday’s Court of Appeal hearing.”
Stark is the majority holder of certain promissory notes issued by Inex International Holdings, a subsidiary of INEX. The promissory notes are not due until April 2007 and can be repaid in cash or in shares, at INEX’s option, at maturity.
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 at 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 Information 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
Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation
CONTACT: Investors, Ian Mortimer, Vice President, Finance and ChiefFinancial 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
