Company Raises Net Proceeds of $30.8 Million
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emisphere
Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EMIS) announced today that it has completed the
sale of 4 million shares of common stock at $8.26 per share, the closing
bid price of the Company's common stock on May 9, 2006, pursuant to
Emisphere's previously filed shelf registration statement, which was
declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 2,
2006.
ThinkEquity Partners, LLC acted as lead placement agent, with WR
Hambrecht + Co, and WBB Securities, LLC, acting as co-placement agents.
Proceeds from the offering will be used by Emisphere for general corporate
purposes, including further development of its lead clinical programs.
"We are pleased to complete this financing on attractive terms which
will allow Emisphere to further develop several of its promising clinical
programs," said Michael M. Goldberg, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Emisphere. "With a significantly strengthened balance sheet, and
many important near-term milestones with our key programs, we are now well
positioned to pursue the substantial opportunities inherent in our
eligen(R) technology. With our partner Novartis we are developing three
oral peptides/proteins for four major diseases. We have two formulations
under development with Roche. These programs are fully funded by our
partners. The additional capital just raised will be used to build our
pipeline of products which currently includes oral insulin, which recently
completed enrollment in a phase II study, oral heparin, and oral acyclovir.
We expect to advance a number of additional compounds into human testing on
our own and with partners."
About Emisphere Technologies, Inc.
Emisphere Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering
the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs. Emisphere's business
strategy is to develop oral forms of drugs that are not currently available
or have poor bioavailability in oral form, either alone or with corporate
partners, by applying its proprietary eligen(R) technology to those drugs
or licensing its eligen(R) technology to partners who typically apply it
directly to their marketed drugs. Emisphere's eligen(R) technology has
enabled the oral delivery of proteins, peptides, macromolecules and charged
organics. Emisphere and its partners have advanced oral formulations or
prototypes of salmon calcitonin, heparin, insulin, parathyroid hormone,
human growth hormone and cromolyn sodium into clinical trials. Emisphere
has strategic alliances with world- leading pharmaceutical companies. For
further information, please visit http://www.emisphere.com
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements
The statements in this release and oral statements made by
representatives of Emisphere relating to matters that are not historical
facts (including without limitation those regarding the timing or potential
outcomes of research collaborations or clinical trials, any market that
might develop for any of Emisphere's product candidates and the sufficiency
of Emisphere's cash and other capital resources) are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited
to, the likelihood that future research will prove successful, the
likelihood that any product in the research pipeline will receive
regulatory approval in the United States or abroad, the ability of
Emisphere and/or its partners to develop, manufacture and commercialize
products using Emisphere's drug delivery technology, Emisphere's ability to
fund such efforts with or without partners, and other risks and
uncertainties detailed in Emisphere's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including those factors discussed under
the caption "Risk Factors" in Emisphere's Annual Report on Form 10-K (file
no. 1-10615) filed on March 11, 2005, as amended by Form 10-K/A filed on
March 29, 2005.
SOURCE Emisphere Technologies, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.emisphere.com
CONTACT:
Elliot M. Maza, CPA, J.D., Chief Financial
Officer, Emisphere Technologies, Inc., +1-914-785-4703; Media,
Dan Budwick, BMC Communications, +1-212-477-9007, ext. 14
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