DURHAM -- A South Korean company has withdrawn an offer to buy Trimeris Inc., a Durham pharmaceutical company, the companies announced Tuesday.
Arigene Co. Ltd. informed Trimeris through counsel that the company intended to terminate the tender offer of all of Trimeris' outstanding shares of common stock because Arigene was "unable to secure sufficient financing for purposes of funding the tender offer."
The tender offer, which expired on Monday, had already been delayed once because of insufficient funds.
In November, the two companies had extended the tender offer to Dec. 28 after announcing earlier that Arigene would purchase Trimeris for more than $81 million, a 55 percent premium on Trimeris' average stock price.
With the termination, Trimeris receives a $12 million reverse termination fee.
Research in Motion eyes RTP
DURHAM -- Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry smart phone, plans to open an operation in Durham's Research Triangle Park next year, according to an e-mail obtained by WRAL News.
"RIM executive management [has] decided to open an RTP site early next year," the e-mail to prospective employees said, according to WRAL.com. "They have engaged RIM facilities people to find a temporary facility ASAP. Then they will work on finding a permanent RIM building."
The company held a two-day job fair at the Marriott at Research Triangle Park hotel early this month, and the e-mail said officials are "acting quickly" on hiring.
"They want to scoop up folks before you find other positions," the e-mail states.
Attempts to reach company representatives were unsuccessful. An RTP representative said he couldn't comment on the report.
Tylenol Arthritis caplets recalled
NEW YORK -- Johnson & Johnson is expanding a voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to consumer reports of a moldy smell that can cause nausea and sickness.
According to a statement posted to the Food and Drug Administration Web site late Monday, the New Brunswick, N.J., company is now recalling all product lots of the Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap.
Johnson & Johnson had recalled five lots of the product last month after consumers complained of a musty, mildew-like odor that triggered nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.
The health care company said the odor results from trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. That chemical is believed to result from the breakdown of another chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.
To date, the side effects, which also include vomiting and diarrhea, have been "temporary and non-serious," although the health effects of the compound have not been studied.
-- From wire reports
