Nabi Pharma ponders sale, merger

Fresh off the sale of its biologics business unit, Nabi Pharmaceuticals has appointed a new CEO and brought in Banc of America Securities to advise the company on its strategic alternatives--including the possible sale or merger of the company. Nabi plans to continue development of NicVAX and StaphVAX, though. The two vaccines are being developed to spur smoking cessation and prevent dangerous bacterial infections.

"The primary goal of this strategic alternatives process is to maximize shareholder value and we feel Nabi is now streamlined and well-positioned to do so,'' said Dr. Raafat Fahim, newly-named president and CEO. "With the sale of our Biologics business unit, Nabi has a very strong financial position, a focused pipeline of vaccine programs and a right-sized and lean organization. We believe that this strategic alternatives process can more fully optimize the value of our most promising assets, namely NicVAX and StaphVAX.''

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