La Jolla Pharmaceutical seeks clinical product for lupus treatment

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (OTCBB:LJPC) (the "Company") provided an update today that the Company is actively seeking and evaluating potential pharmaceutical products for in-licensing or acquisition and has engaged consultants to determine whether there is any potential for the further development of Riquent^® for the treatment of lupus. The Company is seeking potential pharmaceutical products that are small molecules with initial clinical data indicated for cancer, infectious diseases (but not HIV, HCV or HBV), dermatological conditions, gastrointestinal diseases and rare or orphan diseases. This profile is designed to target product opportunities that could be advanced in a clinically meaningful way with the cash resources currently available to the Company. Gail Sloan is the contact for this effort at [email protected].

The Company expects to complete its process of identifying potential candidates by September 30, 2010, and thereafter focus its attention on selecting a potential candidate for development.

In May 2010, the Company entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors and affiliates for a private placement of common stock, redeemable convertible preferred stock and warrants to purchase convertible preferred stock totaling up to $16.3 million in gross proceeds, payable in two tranches and subject to the acquisition of a suitable drug candidate or the approval of a development plan for Riquent. The Company expects to use a portion of the initial $6.0 million in proceeds to evaluate potential pharmaceutical products for in-licensing or acquisition and/or to assess whether development opportunities for Riquent exist, among other uses. A condition of this funding is that the Company must consummate a strategic transaction that is approved by a majority of the investors in the private placement by February 2011. Upon the acquisition/in-licensing of a product or the decision to develop, sell or out-license the Company's Riquent program, the same investors are required to infuse the additional $10.3 million into the Company, which would represent the closing of the second tranche of the offering.