BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced today that its Board of Directors has sent the following letter to shareholders:
October 16, 2006 Dear Shareholder: We are pleased to update you on two important milestones Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has reached regarding our PhosLo(R) (calcium acetate) and NicVAX(R) (Nicotine Conjugate Vaccine) assets. These announcements are part of the company's ongoing strategic plan to continue building value in our core business areas, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the value of your investment in our company. While we are focused on executing our business plan to create shareholder value, we are also committed to exploring strategic alternatives. If we determine that greater shareholder value can be achieved through the implementation of one or more strategic alternatives, we will pursue those alternatives. As the board, management and our outside advisors continue to work together to define and take actions that will build value for investors, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is committed to: -Focusing our business on areas where the company has competitive advantages and can deliver unique value to physicians and patients; -Building a sustainable financial model for executing that business plan; and -Examining a broad range of strategic alternatives available to the company with the assistance of Banc of America Securities LLC to enhance shareholder value. As you may already know, we announced that we have entered into an agreement to sell our PhosLo business to Fresenius Medical Care for consideration of up to $150 million in three components -- up front cash, milestone payments, and royalties on incremental sales of a new product formulation under development. The sale of PhosLo to Fresenius, a company we believe provides a strong foundation to support and promote PhosLo, enables us to significantly increase our cash position. Further, it allows us to focus our resources and energies on our three most promising areas of development -- our development stage products in organ transplant, nicotine addiction and Gram-positive bacterial infections. The sale of PhosLo is the right business decision at the right time and represents an excellent financial outcome for Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. We also made an important announcement regarding NicVAX, our highly promising product candidate for the treatment of nicotine addiction and the prevention of smoking relapse. Thanks to the dedication and diligence of our clinical team, we were able to complete enrollment for the Phase IIB "proof of- concept" study a full three months ahead of schedule. As a result, we are now poised to have trial results early in the second quarter of 2007. This accelerated timing helps to advance our stated goal of selecting a development and commercial partner for NicVAX and then with that partner, initiating pivotal Phase III trials in the second half of 2007. We are excited about NicVAX for many reasons, including the fact that early clinical data indicates that NicVAX, if approved, could potentially be one of the most efficacious smoking cessation products available. In a Phase II clinical trial, NicVAX achieved a 40 percent quit rate in smokers who received the highest dose level versus nine percent in the placebo group. These results represented a vaccine only effect, as patients were not given any supplemental treatments, behavioral support or counseling. The cash proceeds from the PhosLo sale, our partnership with Kedrion to develop Civacir(R) [Hepatitis C Immune Globulin (Human)], and our ability to successfully partner our lead vaccine programs, NicVAX and StaphVAX(R) (Staphylococcus aureus Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine), will strengthen our financial position. Following the sale of PhosLo we expect to achieve a significant reduction in our selling, general and administrative expenses. These actions position Nabi Biopharmaceuticals to fund the important development programs which will deliver value for our shareholders. We are confident that our improved financial strength and more focused business plan are important steps to achieving that goal. We want to emphasize that your Board of Directors is firmly committed to acting in the best interests of the company and all its shareholders. While the company is focused on executing its business plan to create shareholder value, we are also committed to exploring strategic alternatives that may further enhance shareholder value. If we determine that greater shareholder value can be achieved through the implementation of one or more strategic alternatives, including joint ventures, strategic alliances, and the sale or merger of all or part of the company, we will pursue those alternatives. Sincerely, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' Board of Directors About Nabi Biopharmaceuticals
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals leverages its experience and knowledge in powering the immune system to develop and market products that fight serious medical conditions. The company has three products on the market today: PhosLo(R) (calcium acetate), Nabi-HB(R) [Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (Human)], and Aloprim(TM) (allopurinol sodium) for Injection. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is focused on developing products that address unmet medical needs and offer commercial opportunities in our core business areas: Hepatitis and transplant, Gram-positive bacterial infections and nicotine addiction. For a complete list of pipeline products, please go to: http://www.nabi.com/pipeline/index.php. The company is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. For additional information about Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, please visit our website: http://www.nabi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about the company that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements and include statements related to our plans to explore strategic alternatives and prospects. You can identify these forward-looking statements because they involve our expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the company's ability to advance the development of products currently in the pipeline or in clinical trials; maintain the human and financial resources to commercialize current products and bring to market products in development; obtain regulatory approval for its products in the U.S., Europe or other markets; successfully develop, manufacture and market its products; successfully partner with other companies; realize future sales growth for its biopharmaceutical products; maintain sufficient intellectual property protection or positions; raise additional capital on acceptable terms; re-pay its outstanding convertible senior notes when due; and identify and complete transactions that represent strategic alternatives and opportunities. Many of these factors are more fully discussed, as are other factors, in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended July 1, 2006 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nabi BiopharmaceuticalsCONTACT: Thomas E. Rathjen, Vice President, Investor Relations of NabiBiopharmaceuticals, +1-561-989-5800