BRANFORD, Conn., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) announced today the completion of a series of privately negotiated transactions with holders of the Company's 4% Convertible Subordinated Notes due February 2011 (the "2011 Notes") in which the Company retired a total of $50.9 million of the 2011 Notes for an aggregate purchase price of $43.2 million, reflecting an aggregate discount of approximately 15.1% off of face value. CuraGen currently has approximately $100 million or $1.72 per share, in cash and investments on hand, and has $19.0 million of the 2011 Notes outstanding.
With the completion of these transactions, CuraGen will eliminate a total of approximately $5.6 million in interest payments on the 2011 Notes to maturity. The Company now anticipates ending 2008 with cash and investments of approximately $92 million, or $1.59 per share.
"Our planned, systematic strengthening of CuraGen's balance sheet continues with these latest transactions, which have increased our net cash position by approximately $8 million," stated Dr. Timothy Shannon, President and Chief Executive Officer of CuraGen Corporation. "Over the past 16 months, we have increased our net cash position by approximately $87 million, while eliminating over $157 million in debt and over $40 million in annual operating and interest expenses. We believe we are well capitalized with over $100 million to develop our un-partnered antibody drug conjugate, CR011-vcMMAE, in metastatic melanoma and breast cancer and to explore other potential near-term value creation opportunities."
About CuraGen
CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing promising approaches for the treatment of cancer. CuraGen Corporation is headquartered in Branford, Connecticut. For additional information please visit http://www.curagen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding management's future expectations, beliefs, intentions, goals, strategies, plans or prospects, including statements relating to CuraGen's expenses, losses, and future cash and investment positions, including with respect to fiscal year 2008, the timing and expected results of our clinical programs and the cash needed for future development of CR011 and other potential opportunities may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "could increase the likelihood," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is planned," "may," "should," "will," "will enable," "would be expected," "look forward," "may provide," "would" or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including the risk that any one or more of CuraGen's drug development programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons or due to patient enrollment issues or based on new information from nonclinical or clinical studies or from other sources, the success of competing products and technologies, CuraGen's stage of development as a biopharmaceutical company, government regulation and healthcare reform, technological uncertainty and product development risks, product liability exposure, uncertainty of additional funding, CuraGen's history of incurring losses and the uncertainty of achieving profitability, reliance on research collaborations and strategic alliances, competition, patent infringement claims against CuraGen's products, processes and technologies, CuraGen's ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to commercialization rights, as well as those risks, uncertainties and factors referred to in CuraGen's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the section "Risk Factors," as well as other documents that may be filed by CuraGen from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks, uncertainties and factors, CuraGen's actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. CuraGen is providing the information in this press release as of this date and assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE CuraGen Corporation
