CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., Aug 14, 2002 (BW HealthWire) -- Alkermes, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKS) and Reliant Pharmaceuticals, LLC ("Reliant") today announced the mutual termination of their merger agreement announced March 21, 2002.
The companies agreed to terminate the merger agreement due to general market conditions. There will be no payments triggered by the mutual termination, and each company will bear its own legal and transaction fees.
The termination of the merger agreement does not affect the strategic alliance between the two companies announced in December 2001. Richard Pops, CEO of Alkermes, will continue to serve on the Board of Managers of Reliant.
Alkermes, Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical company developing products based on its sophisticated drug delivery technologies to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Our areas of focus include: controlled, extended-release of injectable drugs utilizing our ProLease(R) and Medisorb(R) delivery systems and the development of inhaled pharmaceutical products based on our proprietary Advanced Inhalation Research, Inc. ("AIR") pulmonary delivery system. Our business strategy is twofold. We partner our proprietary technology systems and drug delivery expertise with many of the world's finest pharmaceutical companies and also develop novel, proprietary drug candidates for our own account. In addition to our Cambridge, Massachusetts headquarters, research and manufacturing facilities, we operate research and manufacturing facilities in Ohio and a medical affairs office in Cambridge, England.
Reliant was founded in 1999, to market branded, patent protected, ethical pharmaceutical products to primary care and targeted specialty physicians in the U.S. Reliant currently markets three branded product lines: Lescol(R) (fluvastatin sodium) and Lescol(R) XL, extended-release tablets, developed by Novartis for cholesterol management; DynaCirc(R) (isradipine) and DynaCirc CR(R), an extended-release formulation, also developed by Novartis for the treatment of hypertension; and Axid(R) (nizatidine) developed by Eli Lilly for the treatment of GERD and peptic ulcers. Reliant develops and implements sophisticated life cycle management strategies to extend marketing exclusivity or provide additional patent protection for its products.
Certain statements set forth above may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although we believe that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of our business and operations, various factors may cause our actual results to differ materially for our expectations. These include: whether the strategic alliance between Alkermes and Reliant will achieve any of its intended objectives. For further information with respect to factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations, reference is made to the reports filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
The businesses of Alkermes is subject to significant risks and there can be no assurance that actual results of product development activities and sales and marketing efforts, as well as their results of operations will not differ materially from expectations. For information with respect to other factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations, reference is made to the reports filed by Alkermes with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Alkermes will host an earnings conference call at 4:30pm ET on August 14, 2002. The call will be webcast on the investor relations section of Alkermes' website at www.alkermes.com and will be archived until August 19, 2002.
CONTACT:
Alkermes, Inc.
Rebecca Peterson, 617/583-6378
or
Reliant Pharmaceuticals, LLC
Lawrence A. Gyenes, 908/542-4402