UNION CITY, Calif., June 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOR) today announced that its Board of Directors has increased the Company's common share repurchase program authorization by an additional 6.5 million shares. In late February 2008, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to 7.0 million shares. Under this original authorization, as of June 1, 2009, the Company has repurchased approximately 5.9 million shares, including 1.3 million in the first quarter of 2009, and 1.0 million to date during the second quarter of 2009. The additional 6.5 million share authorization represents approximately 10 percent of the Company's outstanding common stock. As of March 31, 2009, Questcor had 64.6 million common shares outstanding.
Stock repurchases under this program may be made through open market or privately negotiated transactions in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. The transactions may be made from time to time and in such amounts as management deems appropriate and will be funded from available working capital. The number of shares to be repurchased and the timing of repurchases will be based on several factors, including the price of the Company's common stock, general business and market conditions, and other investment opportunities. The stock repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be limited, suspended or terminated at any time by the Board of Directors without prior notice. The authorization to repurchase shares is not a guarantee that the Company will repurchase additional shares.
"Our Board's decision to increase the number of shares authorized under our repurchase program reflects both our confidence in the prospects for Questcor's continued growth and our commitment to building value for our common shareholders," said Don Bailey, President and CEO. "Our recent progress has enabled us to provide free drug with commercial value of more than $26 million to uninsured and underinsured patients since late 2007. Additionally, we have been able to expand investments in important medical research aimed at improving patient care not only in infantile spasms and multiple sclerosis, but also in other difficult-to-treat diseases and disorders having high unmet medical need.
"At the same time, our progress has put us in a position to increase the size of our share repurchase program, which we believe has the potential to generate improved returns to our shareholders. During the past 15 months, Questcor has returned more than $57 million to shareholders through this repurchase program, private common stock transactions, and the repurchase of all preferred stock. The total number of outstanding shares has been reduced by approximately 12 million during this period, which is significantly accretive to earnings per share," concluded Mr. Bailey.
About Questcor
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company that markets H.P. Acthar(r) Gel (repository corticotropin injection), an injectable drug that is approved for the treatment of certain disorders with an inflammatory component, including the treatment of exacerbations associated with multiple sclerosis ("MS"), and the treatment of nephrotic syndrome. H.P. Acthar Gel ("Acthar") is not indicated for, but is also used in treating patients with infantile spasms ("IS"), a rare form of refractory childhood epilepsy, and opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome, a rare autoimmune-related childhood neurological disorder. The Company also markets Doral(r) (quazepam), which is indicated for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, and/or early morning awakenings. For more information, please visit www.questcor.com.
Note: Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that have been made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "if," "should," "forecasts," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue" or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the following:
-- Questcor's ability to continue to successfully implement
its Acthar-centric business strategy, including its expansion
in the MS marketplace;
-- Questcor's ability to manage its sales force expansion;
-- FDA approval of and the market introduction of competitive
products and our inability to market Acthar in IS prior to
approval of IS as a labeled indication;
-- Questcor's ability to operate within an industry that is
highly regulated at both the Federal and state level;
-- Regulatory changes or actions including Federal or State
health care reform initiatives;
-- Questcor's ability to accurately forecast the demand for its
products;
-- The gross margin achieved from the sale of its products;
-- Questcor's ability to estimate the quantity of Acthar used
by government entities and Medicaid-eligible patients;
-- That the actual amount of rebates and chargebacks related
to the use of Acthar by government entities and
Medicaid-eligible patients may differ materially from
Questcor's estimates;
-- Its expenses and other cash needs for upcoming periods;
-- The inventories carried by Questcor's distributors, specialty
pharmacies and hospitals;
-- Volatility in Questcor's monthly and quarterly Acthar
shipments and end-user demand;
-- Questcor's ability to obtain finished goods from its sole
source contract manufacturers on a timely basis if at all;
-- Questcor's ability to attract and retain key management
personnel;
-- Questcor's ability to utilize its NOLs to reduce income taxes
on taxable income;
-- Research and development risks, including risks associated
with Questcor's sNDA for IS and its preliminary work in the
area of nephrotic syndrome;
-- Uncertainties regarding Questcor's intellectual property;
-- The uncertainty of receiving required regulatory approvals
in a timely way, or at all;
-- Uncertainties in the credit and capital markets and the
impact a further deterioration of these markets could have
on Questcor's investment portfolio;
-- As well as the risks discussed in Questcor's annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and other
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The risk factors and other information contained in these documents should be considered in evaluating Questcor's prospects and future financial performance.
Questcor undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.