CombinatoRx Stock Trading Halted Today; FDA Advisory Committees Meet to Discuss Exalgo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & VANCOUVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 23, 2009-- CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) announced that NASDAQ has halted trading in the Company's common stock today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Anesthetics and Life Support Advisory Committee and its Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee are meeting today, in a public session, to review and discuss the New Drug Application (NDA) of Neuromed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, for ExalgoTM (hydromorphone HCI extended release) tablets, for the management of moderate to severe pain in opioid tolerant patients requiring continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesia for an extended period of time. CombinatoRx and Neuromed entered into a definitive merger agreement on June 30, 2009 for a merger transaction which is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2009.
The U.S. rights to ExalgoTM were acquired by Mallinckrodt Inc., a subsidiary of Covidien on June 11, 2009.
About CombinatoRx
CombinatoRx, Incorporated (CRXX) is pioneering the new field of synergistic combination pharmaceuticals. Going beyond traditional combinations, CombinatoRx creates product candidates with novel mechanisms of action, striking at the biological complexities of human disease. The CombinatoRx proprietary drug discovery technology provides a renewable and previously untapped source of novel drug candidates. The Company was founded in 2000 and is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To learn more about CombinatoRx, please visit www.combinatorx.com.
Important Additional Information Will Be Filed with the SEC
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. In connection with the merger between CombinatoRx and Neuromed discussed in this press release, CombinatoRx has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4, which includes a joint proxy statement/prospectus of CombinatoRx and Neuromed and other relevant materials in connection with the proposed transactions. Investors and security holders of CombinatoRx are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus and the other relevant material when they become available because they will contain important information about CombinatoRx, Neuromed and the proposed transaction. The joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials (when they become available), and any and all documents filed with the SEC, may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by CombinatoRx by directing a written request to CombinatoRx, Incorporated, 245 First Street, Third Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, Attention: Secretary. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND THE OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS.
CombinatoRx and its respective executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the security holders of CombinatoRx in connection with the merger. Information about the executive officers and directors of CombinatoRx and their ownership of CombinatoRx common stock is set forth in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and Amendment No. 1 to the CombinatoRx Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009. Investors and security holders may obtain additional information regarding the direct and indirect interests of CombinatoRx, Neuromed and their respective executive officers and directors in the merger by reading the joint proxy statement and prospectus.
Forward-Looking Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning CombinatoRx and Neuromed, Neuromed's product candidate ExalgoTM, and its potential for FDA approval, the CombinatoRx drug discovery technology, and the business plans of both CombinatoRx and the combined company. These forward-looking statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of CombinatoRx, Neuromed and the combined company involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks related to the ability of Neuromed or its collaboration partner to obtain regulatory approval for the sale and marketing of its ExalgoTM product candidate, the unproven nature of the CombinatoRx drug discovery technology, the Company's ability to obtain additional financing or funding for its research and development and those other risks that can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of the CombinatoRx Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the other reports that CombinatoRx periodically files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those CombinatoRx contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements reflect management's current views and CombinatoRx does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.