Friday, December 5, 2008

NitroMed approached with buyout offer

By Mass High Tech Staff

Lexington drug developer NitroMed Inc. said Thursday that Deerfield Management, which owns 12 percent of NitroMed, approached the company with an unsolicited acquisition proposal for 50 cents per share. NitroMed common stock closed Thursday at 30 cents per share.

The pharmaceutical company said its board of directors and advisors are looking into the offer.

In November, NitroMed (Nasdaq: NTMD) and biotech firm Archemix Corp. announced plans to merge the two companies in an all-stock swap transaction. In this deal, the newly formed company would be located at the Cambridge headquarters of Archemix, with NitroMed offering its common stock shares to Archemix shareholders who total 70 percent of the combined firms’ shareholders.

If shareholders approve the Archemix-NitroMed merger, both the management team and board of directors will consist of representatives from each of the original companies.

NitroMed develops BiDil, a heart failure pill designed specifically for African-American patients, which it made plans to sell to JHP Pharmaceuticals last month for a possible $26.3 million. The sale is pending shareholder approval.

In January, Lexington-based NitroMed laid off most of its staff and suspended marketing efforts for BiDil.