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
EXERCISE OF OVER-ALLOTMENT IN
PUBLIC OFFERING
RALEIGH, NC, March 18, 2002 - Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq:SLXP) today
announced that the underwriters of its recent public offering of common stock
exercised their over-allotment option and purchased from Salix an additional
600,000 shares. After giving effect to the over-allotment shares, a total of
4,600,000 shares of common stock were offered and sold in the offering.
This transaction brings the total gross proceeds of the offering to $61.5
million. The net proceeds to Salix were approximately $57.4 million. With the
addition of these funds, as of this date, the Company's cash, cash equivalents
and investments exceed $80 million. 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(R) (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, 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.