EXHIBIT 99.6
NEWS RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Vince Anido, ISTA Pharmaceuticals Justin Jackson, Burns McClellan (Media)
949/788-5311 jjackson@ny.burnsmc.com
vanido@istavision.com Lisa Burns and E. Blair Clark (Investors)
David Waltz, ISTA Pharmaceuticals bclark@ny.burnsmc.com
949/788-5345 212/213-0006
dwaltz@istavision.com
ISTA PHARMACEUTICALS SECURES $44 MILLION IN FINANCING
CONSISTING OF $40 MILLION IN EQUITY AND A $4 MILLION BRIDGE LOAN
CONVERTIBLE INTO COMMON STOCK
IRVINE, CA. - SEPTEMBER 19, 2002 - ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISTA)
announced today that it has secured a commitment to provide $40 million in
equity capital from investors led by the Sprout Group, Sanderling Venture
Partners and Investor Growth Capital. ISTA has also secured a bridge loan of $4
million. Subject to ISTA stockholder approval, the bridge will be convertible
into common stock at the option of the investors.
"We are very pleased with the confidence demonstrated by our investors in their
commitment to helping us meet our business objectives," stated Vicente Anido,
Jr., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ISTA. "This funding will
enable us to execute on our plans to complete development work on the late-stage
product candidates ISTA has in its clinical pipeline and initiate commercial
activities once these products are approved by the FDA."
Under the terms of the equity financing, the investors have agreed to purchase
$40 million of common stock and will receive warrants to purchase an additional
$6 million in ISTA stock. The per share price of the common stock and the
exercise price of the warrants is $0.38, representing a 31% premium to the
Wednesday closing price. Sprout, Sanderling and Investor Growth Capital will be
entitled to appoint a total of four directors to ISTA's Board of Directors.
Through the bridge loan, Sprout, Sanderling, Investor Growth Capital and other
investors agreed to purchase $4 million in senior secured convertible promissory
notes that mature on December 31, 2002. The investors also received warrants to
purchase $1 million in ISTA stock that are immediately exercisable at a price of
$0.38 per share. The full amount of the notes are convertible into common stock
at a price of $0.38 per share at the option of the investors, subject to ISTA
stockholder approval. A portion of the notes may be converted at the option of
the investors prior to the receipt of stockholder approval subject to
limitations in the investment agreements and relevant regulations. The proceeds
of the bridge financing will be used to fund clinical trials and general
corporate activities.
The issuance of the stock and the warrants in the equity financing is subject to
approval by ISTA's stockholders. ISTA's stockholders will also be asked to
approve other matters in connection with the financing, including a reverse
stock split at a ratio between 1-for-7 and 1-for-10. ISTA is effecting the
reverse stock split in order to satisfy the Nasdaq $1.00 minimum bid price
requirement. ISTA expects to obtain stockholder approval prior to October 31,
2002. Thomas Weisel Partners LLC has acted as a financial advisor to ISTA with
respect to these transactions.
About ISTA Pharmaceuticals
ISTA Pharmaceuticals is focused on saving and improving eyesight by developing
proprietary therapeutic products. ISTA's product candidates and programs address
serious diseases and conditions of the eye such as vitreous hemorrhage, diabetic
retinopathy, hyphema, glaucoma, ocular pain and inflammation. Building on this
pipeline, ISTA's goal is to become a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical
company by acquiring complementary products, either already marketed or in
development.
About the Sprout Group
The Sprout Group is one of the oldest and largest venture capital firms in the
US. Sprout Capital IX L.P. and its affiliated entities comprise a capital pool
of $1.6 billion. With offices in Menlo Park and New York, Sprout focuses on
helping to grow companies in the healthcare technology and information
technology sectors. Since 1969, Sprout has helped finance more than 300
companies with combined sales exceeding $40 billion. Active investments in
healthcare technology include Adeza Biomedical, Adolor, Affymax, Allos
Therapeutics, Deltagen, ePocrates, Focus Technologies, Gryphon Sciences,
IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Kalypsys, Metabasis, NxStage Medical, Pharsight,
PhaseForward, Phylos, Picoliter, Prometheus, Spotfire, Tripath, Variagenics,
VascA, Visiogen, VNUS Medical and Xcyte. The Sprout Group is a venture capital
affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston. For further information on the Sprout
Group, please visit their web site at www.sproutgroup.com.
About Sanderling Ventures
Founded in 1979, Sanderling is one of the oldest investment firms dedicated to
building new biomedical companies. Sanderling and its principals play an active
role in new ventures by providing seed and early-stage funding, contributing
management leadership and administrative support, developing cost-control
strategies to extend available dollars, supplying technical and regulatory
expertise where needed, and offering the insight and perspective of those who
have "done it before." Since its inception, Sanderling has supported over 40
biomedical companies from very early stages through commercial development,
earning consistently high rates-of-return on its venture investments.
About Investor Growth Capital
Investor Growth Capital, Inc. is a private equity firm focused on investments in
private and public healthcare and technology companies in North America and
Europe. Illustrative active healthcare investments include: Axcan Pharma,
Esperion Therapeutics, IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Intuitive Surgical, Kyphon,
Molecular Staging and Personal Chemistry. Investor Growth Capital, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Investor AB, advises the Investor Group and has $1.8B in
assets under management, with offices in New York, Palo Alto and
Stockholm. For further information on Investor Growth Capital, please visit the
web site at igc.investorab.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding the ability
of ISTA to complete the development of its late stage product candidates,
receive regulatory approval for these products and initiate commercial
activities, comply with the Nasdaq listing requirements and obtain stockholder
approval of the financing terms. These statements are based on current
expectations of future events and, as such, involve risks and uncertainties that
may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in such statements.
These risks and uncertainties include the possibility that some or all of the
products that ISTA is currently developing may not receive regulatory approval,
and if one or more of our products receive regulatory approval, our ability to
successfully launch these products, and if the stockholders approve the
financing, including the reverse stock split, our common stock may not trade at
or above $1.00 for 10 consecutive trading days or such longer period that Nasdaq
may require. Further information on the risks and factors that could affect
ISTA's business, financial condition, and the results of operations are
contained in ISTA's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), including ISTA's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended June 30, 2002, which are available at www.sec.gov.
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