
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Vertex aims at $320M in stock offering
By Mass High Tech Staff
Cambridge biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it plans to raise approximately $320 million through a follow-on offering of its common stock.
According to officials at Vertex (Nasdaq: VRTX), the company will put on the market 10 million shares in an underwritten offering at $32. Merrill Lynch & Co. is the book-runner on the offering, with Cowen and Co. in the co-manager role.
Earlier this month, Vertex announced the retirement of company founder and current president, CEO and chairman Joshua Boger, who will continue in his position through May 23. The company appointed former CEO of Shire PLC and Vertex board member Matthew Emmens to replace Boger at the helm.
Boger founded Vertex in 1989 and has since also served as chairman of the board of directors for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and member of the board of directors for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
Vertex also announced last month that it put on hold its plans to moved company headquarters from Cambridge to Fan Pier in Boston. Instead, Vertex extended a pair of leases at its current Cambridge site.
Focusing on small molecule drugs, Vertex is working on therapies for viral diseases, cystic fibrosis, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancer and pain. The company reported a loss for 2008 of $459.8 million on revenue of $175.5 million.







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