Home Site Map Contact Us
 
Stock Price
SEARCH 
Salix Pharmaceuticals

News Room

News Releases

Salix Pharmaceuticals Prices Convertible Notes Offering

RALEIGH, NC, August 18, 2008 – Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) today announced the pricing of its offering of $55 million aggregate principal amount of 5.5% convertible senior notes due 2028 to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Salix has also granted an option to the initial purchasers of the notes to purchase up to an additional $5.0 million aggregate principal amount of notes to cover over–allotments.

* The coupon on the notes will be 5.5% per year on the principal amount. Interest will accrue from August 22, 2008, and will be payable semi–annually in arrears on August 15 and February 15 of each year, beginning February 15, 2009.

* The notes will mature on August 15, 2028, unless previously converted or repurchased in accordance with their terms. The notes are not redeemable by Salix prior to August 15, 2013.

* The notes will be convertible, under certain circumstances, into cash, shares of Salix common stock or any combination thereof at Salix's election. The initial conversion rate for the notes will be 108.0847 shares of Salix common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $9.25 per share of common stock and represents a 20% conversion premium over the last reported sale price of Salix's common stock on August 18, 2008, which was $7.71 per share. The conversion rate and the conversion price will be subject to adjustment in certain events, such as distributions of dividends or stock splits.

Salix intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund potential product acquisition or in–licensing opportunities, to develop and commercialize product candidates and new indications for rifaximin and to provide ongoing working capital and for general corporate purposes. The closing of the sale of the notes is expected to occur on August 22, 2008, subject to the satisfaction of various customary closing conditions.

The notes and the shares of common stock underlying the notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, or any applicable state securities laws. Unless so registered, the notes may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, 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 state.

About Salix

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, develops and markets prescription pharmaceutical products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Salix's strategy is to in–license late–stage or marketed proprietary therapeutic drugs, complete any required development and regulatory submission of these products, and market them through the Company's gastroenterology specialty sales and marketing team.


Please Note: The materials provided herein contain projections and other forward–looking statements regarding future events. Such 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, among others: our need to return to profitability; the high cost and uncertainty of the research, clinical trials and other development activities involving pharmaceutical products; the unpredictability of the duration and results of regulatory review of New Drug Applications and Investigational NDAs; market acceptance for approved products; the need to acquire new products; generic and other competition and the possible impairment of, or inability to obtain, intellectual property rights and the costs of obtaining such rights from third parties. The reader is referred to the documents that the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

back to news


COLAZAL® (balsalazide disodium) Capsules 750 mg are indicated for the treatment of mildly to moderately active Ulcerative Colitis in patients 5 years of age and older. COLAZAL does not relieve symptoms in all patients; your patients' results may vary. In four well-controlled clinical trials, patients receiving a COLAZAL dose of 6.75g/day most frequently reported the following events (reporting frequency > 3%): 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. In the pediatric trial, patients most frequently reported the following adverse events: headache (15%), abdominal pain upper (13%), abdominal pain (12%), vomiting (10%), diarrhea (9%), colitis ulcerative (6%), nasopharyngitis (6%) and, pyrexia (6%). COLAZAL is contraindicated in patients with a hypersensitivity to salicylates or the components of COLAZAL capsules or balsalazide metabolites. The safety and effectiveness of COLAZAL beyond 8 weeks in children (ages 5-17 years) and 12 weeks in adults have not been established.

Consult with your physician to see if this product is right for you.

For complete Prescribing Information, please click here.

Xifaxan® (rifaximin) Tablets are indicated for the treatment of patients (≥12 years of age) with travelers' diarrhea caused by non-invasive strains of Escherichia coli. Xifaxan should not be used in patients with diarrhea complicated by fever or blood in the stool or diarrhea due to pathogens other than Escherichia coli. Xifaxan should be discontinued if diarrhea symptoms get worse or persist more than 24-48 hours and alternative antibiotic therapy should be considered.

In clinical trials, Xifaxan was generally well tolerated. The most common side effects (vs. placebo) were flatulence 11.3% (vs. 19.7%), headache 9.7% (vs. 9.2%), abdominal pain 7.2% (vs. 10.1 %), rectal tenesmus 7.2% (vs. 8.8%), defecation urgency 5.9% (vs. 9.2%) and nausea 5.3% (vs. 8.3%).

Consult with your physician to see if this product is right for you.

For complete Prescribing Information, please click here.

MoviPrep® (PEG-3350, sodium sulfate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid for oral solution) is indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults 18 years of age or older. MoviPrep is contraindicated in patients who have had a severe hypersensitivity reaction to any of its components. MoviPrep should be used with caution in patients using concomitant medications that increase the risk of electrolyte abnormalities, in patients with known or suspected hyponatremia, severe ulcerative colitis, ileus, gastrointestinal obstruction or perforation, gastric retention, toxic colitis, toxic megacolon, or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. In clinical trials, abdominal distention, anal discomfort, thirst, nausea, and abdominal pain were the most common adverse reactions to MoviPrep administration. MoviPrep contains a maximum of 2.33 mg of phenylalanine per treatment.

Consult with your physician to see if this product is right for you.

For complete Prescribing Information, please click here.

OsmoPrep® (sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate, USP, and sodium phosphate dibasic anhydrous, USP) Tablets are indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults 18 years of age or older. Considerable caution should be advised before OsmoPrep is used in patients with severe renal insufficiency, congestive heart failure, ascites, unstable angina, gastric retention, ileus, acute obstruction or pseudo-obstruction of the bowel, severe chronic constipation, bowel perforation, acute colitis, toxic megacolon, gastric bypass or stapling surgery, or hypomotility syndrome. Use with caution in patients with impaired renal function, patients with a history of acute phosphate nephropathy, patients with a history of seizures or at higher risk of seizure, patients with higher risk of cardiac arrhythmias, known or suspected electrolyte disturbances (such as dehydration), or people taking drugs that affect electrolyte levels. Patients with electrolyte abnormalities such as hypernatremia, hyperphosphatemia, hypokalemia, or hypocalcemia should have their electrolytes corrected before treatment with OsmoPrep. OsmoPrep is contraindicated in patients with a known allergy or hypersensitivity to sodium phosphate salts or any of its ingredients. In clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse reactions (reporting frequency >3%) were abdominal bloating, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. It is recommended that patients receiving OsmoPrep be advised to adequately hydrate before, during, and after the use of OsmoPrep.

Consult with your physician to see if this product is right for you.

For complete Prescribing Information, please click here.

Salix Products
  • Colazal
  • Xifaxan
  • MoviPrep
  • OsmoPrep

Click here to view all Salix products

Click here for Research & Development Info

Click here to receive Press Releases and Financial Updates by e-mail