Liquidity crunch forces Epix Pharma to close shop

Epix Pharmaceuticals put up a fight, but despite all its efforts to round up fresh working capital the developer says it will now have to wind down its operations and close up shop.

At the end of last year, Lexington, MA-based Epix had a staff of 91, according to the Boston Business Journal. Last March, though, with money running out, the company started to downsize [1]. In April, Epix sold rights [2] to its vascular imaging agent Vasovist for $28 million and also worked out a deal to wipe out $100 million in debt.

It wasn't enough, though. Epix needed new money coming in, and that didn't happen. Now Epix plans to liquidate, but doesn't believe there will be any money left for shareholders after the creditors are paid. All of its employees have been terminated, with the CEO staying on to wrap up.

"It is with great disappointment that the company must proceed with this decision. Over the past several months we had taken several actions in an effort to improve the financial health of Epix ... Despite this and the efforts of our financial advisors who approached numerous third-parties over the past several months, we were unable to obtain additional funding to continue our operations or consummate a strategic transaction," said Elkan Gamzu, president and chief executive officer of Epix.

- read the story [3] from the Boston Business Journal 

Related Articles:
Epix threatens bankruptcy in debt-restructuring bid [2]
Auditors question Epix's ability to survive [4]
Epix shares soar on Vasovist approval [5]
Epix cuts staff, focuses on lead programs [1]
Epix regains commercialization rights to Vasovist [6]