Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adam C. Derbyshire Mike Freeman
Vice President and Director, Investor Relations and
Chief Financial Officer Corporate Communications
919 862-1000 919 862-1000
SALIX PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES
PUBLIC OFFERING OF 4,000,000 SHARES
RALEIGH, NC, March 8, 2002 - Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq:SLXP) today
announced the commencement of its public offering of 4,000,000 shares of common
stock at a price to the public of $13.37 per share. The net proceeds to Salix
are expected to be approximately $49.8 million.
Salix has granted the underwriters of the offering an option to purchase up to
an additional 600,000 shares from Salix, solely to cover over-allotments, if
any. Salix intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for the potential
acquisition of additional products; the marketing, and if necessary, development
of those products; the development and commercialization of its second product,
LUMENAX(TM) (rifaximin), as a treatment for travelers' diarrhea; the development
and commercialization of new indications for both COLAZAL(TM) (balsalazide
disodium), the Company's first marketed product, and LUMENAX; general corporate
purposes; and working capital.
UBS Warburg LLC and Wachovia Securities served as the joint book-running
managers of the offering. Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, Leerink Swann & Company
and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as the co-managers
A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with and has
been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This
press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy nor shall there be any sale
of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of
any such state. Copies of the final prospectus relating to this offering may be
obtained from UBS Warburg LLC, 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171, Attention:
Prospectus Department or Wachovia Securities, 7 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD
21202.
Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, develops
and markets prescription drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Salix's strategy is to identify and acquire rights to products that it believes
have potential for more rapid regulatory approval or are already approved; apply
its regulatory, product development, and sales and marketing expertise to
commercialize these products; and use its 60-person sales force focused on
high-prescribing U.S. gastroenterologists to sell it products. Salix's first
marketed product is COLAZAL(TM), an anti-inflammatory drug approved for the
treatment of mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis. The Company
launched the product in the U.S. through its specialty sales force in January
2001. COLAZAL was well tolerated in clinical studies. In clinical trials,
patients reported the following adverse events most frequently: headache (8%);
abdominal pain (6%); diarrhea (5%); nausea (5%); vomiting (4%); respiratory
infection (4%); and arthralgia (4%). Withdrawal from therapy due to adverse
events was comparable to placebo. Salix's next product candidate is LUMENAX
(rifaximin), currently in development for the potential treatment of infections
of the lower gastrointestinal tract. The Company submitted an NDA for rifaximin
for the treatment of travelers' diarrhea to the FDA on December 26, 2001. Salix
trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol "SLXP."
For more information please contact the Company at 919-862-1000 or visit our web
site at www.salixpharm.com.
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Please note: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding
future events. These statements are just predictions and are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause the actual events or results to differ
materially. These risks and uncertainties include stock price volatility, the
uncertainty of market acceptance of COLAZAL and rifaximin, our limited sales and
marketing experience, timing of
customer purchases, our ability to manage growth, risks of clinical trials and
regulatory review, and the need to acquire new products. The reader is referred
to the documents that the Company files from time to time with the Securities
Exchange Commission.