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Neurogen Raising $30.6M to Advance Four Programs(BioWorld Today Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Financings Roundup Neurogen Corp. said it has cut about 45 jobs in an effort to focus resources on its four clinical programs, and expects to raise about $30.6 million to advance those programs. The money will extend the company's cash resources through the second half of 2009, the company said. The $30.6 million represents the gross proceeds of a private placement offering of exchangeable preferred stock and warrants to selected institutional investors. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in about a week, the Branford, Conn.-based company said. The exchangeable preferred stock will be exchanged automatically for common stock upon shareholder approval, subject to certain conditions. The net proceeds from the offering, after fees and expenses, will be used for clinical development of existing product candidates and other general corporate purposes, Neurogen said. The company has four clinical programs in insomnia, anxiety, restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Parkinson's disease. Data from all four programs are expected by the end of the year, said Stephen R. Davis, president and CEO. Clinical studies previously planned for schizophrenia in 2008 have been deferred until a future date, the company said. Neurogen is considering several potential indications for product candidates adipiplon and aplindore. Phase II studies in both Parkinson's and RLS with aplindore began earlier this year. An upcoming Phase II/III study with adipiplon for insomnia would compare it to current market leader, Ambien CR, in a head-to-head study. In addition, Neurogen plans to conduct a human proof-of-concept study in anxiety to examine adipiplon's ability to relieve anxiety at doses substantially below those that produce sedation - a finding observed in animal studies. At the end of 2007, Neurogen had $42.6 million in cash and marketable securities, Davis said. That money, plus the newly announced financing and the operational changes, will "enable us to get to important clinical milestones in our insomnia, anxiety, Parkinson's disease and RLS programs in 2008 and to fund our planned operations into the second half of 2009," he noted. Neurogen also announced that it has reduced its work force by approximately 45 positions in research and administrative functions to focus resources on advancing the company's four clinical programs. It expects to incur restructuring charges, primarily associated with severance benefits, of about $2.6 million in the second and third quarters of 2008. Neurogen also expects to take a noncash charge to write down the value of property and equipment associated with its research operations, but said it cannot estimate the amount of such charge at this time. Shares of Neurogen (NASDAQ:NRGN) lost 75 cents, or 33.6 percent, Wednesday, closing at $1.48. In other financing news: ? Antigenics Inc., of New York, said it expects to raise $21 million in a private placement and use the money for key commercial and regulatory efforts, including the launch of Oncophage (vitespen) in Russia and possible filings in Europe and Canada. (See BioWorld Today, April 9, 2008.) The offering is for 7 million shares of its common stock at $3 per share, and five-year warrants to purchase up to 7 million additional shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.75 per share. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur shortly, subject to certain conditions. Rodman & Renshaw LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc., served as the exclusive placement agent for the offering. ? Dendreon Corp., of Seattle, said it has completed a $46 million sale of stock and stock-purchase warrants to an unidentified institutional investor. The company has said previously that it plans to use the net proceeds to fund commercialization activities and trials of Provenge (sipuleucel-T). Lazard Capital Markets LLC served as sole placement agent for the offering. ? Potentia Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Louisville, Ky., said it has completed a $12 million round of financing. The funds will allow Potentia to complete a Phase ! study of POT-4, a potential treatment for age-related macular degeneration, and to move the investigational drug into Phase II, the company said. POT-4 is a complement component C3 inhibitor, formulated to be dosed less frequently than currently approved AMD therapies. POT-4 binds tightly to complement component C3, preventing its participation in the complement activation cascade. ? Stemline Therapeutics Inc., of New York, said it has completed a $12.5 million round of financing with Pequot Capital Management Inc. The money will be used to advance the company's clinical program and for other purposes. Its lead compound, SL-401, targets the interleukin-3 receptor present on multiple hematological cancers, including leukemia blasts and leukemia cancer stem cells. Stemline also is developing a portfolio of compounds directed at that and other cancer stem cell targets of a variety of hematological and solid cancers. n ? ? Copyright ? 2008 Thomson BioWorld, All Rights Reserved. |