PLEASANTON, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 12, 2008 -- Lipid Sciences, Inc. (LIPD - News) announced today that the Board of Directors has authorized management to explore a broad range of strategic options to maximize shareholder value. The range of options to be explored will include corporate partnerships and joint ventures as well as a merger or sale of the Company or its assets. The Company has retained Rodman & Renshaw, LLC as its financial adviser to assist with this process and to continue discussions that the Company is having with potential partners and acquirers.
S. Lewis Meyer, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This initiative is a logical next step in the Company’s efforts to capitalize on its strong base of innovative development programs and intellectual property that is focused on the treatment of cardiovascular disease as well as diseases caused by a wide variety of lipid-enveloped viruses. Our HDL Therapy program has achieved important clinical and pre-clinical milestones with the completion of a successful safety and feasibility clinical trial at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., combined with powerful in vivo and in vitro data supporting the anti-atherosclerosis and anti-inflammatory design goals of the Company’s lead HDL Mimetic Peptide candidate, LSI-518P. We have built a broad and strategic portfolio of intellectual property assets covering all of our development programs which we believe will provide significant value to a potential partner or acquirer.”
Lipid Sciences does not expect to disclose further developments relating to its review of strategic options until an acceptable partnership or acquisition offer is made and accepted or until the Company’s Board of Directors approves an alternative form of transaction.
Lipid Sciences, Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company engaged in the research and development of products and processes intended to treat major medical indications, in which lipids, or fat components, play a key role. The Company’s HDL Therapy platform (HDL Mimetic Peptides and HDL Selective Delipidation) aims to develop treatments to reverse atherosclerosis, a systemic disease caused by the build-up of cholesterol-filled plaques in the vascular system and, most critically, in the coronary arteries. Regression of such plaques may have a major impact on reducing the risk of acute coronary events. The Company’s Viral Immunotherapy platform focuses on the removal of the lipid coatings from lipid-enveloped viruses and other lipid-containing infectious agents by applying Lipid Sciences’ proprietary delipidation technologies. The Company believes that removing the virus’ protective lipid coating enhances the processing and presentation of viral proteins to stimulate the body’s immune system to effectively fight the disease. Conditions that could potentially be impacted by these technologies include HIV, SARS, and influenza. In addition, Lipid Sciences believes that this Viral Immunotherapy platform also has applicability to a wide range of viruses impacting animal health -- a diverse market with diseases affecting both food and companion animals.
Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, study results, anticipations, expectations, future events or performance as well as all other statements that are not statements of historical fact. The forward-looking statements contained in this release reflect our current beliefs and expectations on the date of this release. Actual results, performance or outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed in the forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to the documents filed by us with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition to those risk factors, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: our inability to obtain adequate funds; our technologies not proving to be safe or effective; our inability to obtain regulatory approval of our technologies, which are only in the clinical development stage; delay or failure to complete clinical studies; our dependence on our license agreement with Aruba International B.V.; our reliance on collaborations with strategic partners and consultants; our reliance on key suppliers to provide the material necessary to conduct successful pre-clinical and clinical studies; competition in our industry, including the development of new products by others that may provide alternative or better therapies; failure to secure and enforce our intellectual property rights; risks associated with use of biological and hazardous materials; acceptance of our potential products by healthcare providers and patients; and our dependence on key personnel.
This release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies are available through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. Lipid Sciences assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.
Press releases for Lipid Sciences, Inc. are available on our website: www.lipidsciences.com. To receive the Company’s press releases via email, please contact: info@lipidsciences.com.
Contact:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
S. Lewis Meyer, Ph.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Lipid Sciences, Inc. 925-249-4010 Email Contact
Sandra A. Gardiner Chief Financial Officer Lipid Sciences, Inc. 925-249-4025
Source: Lipid Sciences, Inc.
