Dendreon Files For Bankruptcy; PROVENGE Remains Commercially Available

(RTTNews) - Dendreon Corp. (DNDN), a biotechnology firm focused on cancer treatments, Monday announced that the company and its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on November 10 to implement the financial restructuring contemplated under the agreements with certain of its Senior Noteholders.

The company said it has reached agreements on the terms of a financial restructuring with certain holders of the company's 2.875 percent Convertible Senior Notes due 2016, representing approximately 84 percent of the $620 million aggregate principal amount of the 2016 Notes.

Under the terms of the agreements, the financial restructuring may take the form of a stand-alone recapitalization or a sale of the Company or its assets.

However, the transactions under the agreements will enable continued delivery of PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) without disruption or impact to access for providers and appropriate patients in need of this revolutionary personalized immunotherapy treatment.

Under the terms of the restructuring support agreements, the Senior Noteholders will support a plan of reorganization to convert all 2016 Notes to common equity of the reorganized Dendreon.

The agreements further provide for Dendreon to conduct a court-supervised sale process, pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code or through a plan of reorganization, for all or substantially all of its assets to a party that would continue producing and providing PROVENGE.

Qualified bids under the terms of the proposed bidding procedures will have to meet certain criteria and provide value of not less than $275 million.

If no qualified bids are received, Dendreon will proceed to confirmation of the stand-alone plan.

Dendreon said it has significant liquidity to support all of its operations during the restructuring process, with approximately $100 million of cash, cash equivalents and investments on hand as of November 7.