Lexicon, Azimuth Structure Stock Equity Financing Deal

Azimuth Opportunity Ltd. has committed to provide Lexicon Genetics Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX – News) with up to $75 million in common stock equity financing.

During the 18-month term of the equity financing agreement, The Woodlands-based Lexicon may sell registered shares of its common stock at its sole discretion to Azimuth Opportunity at a small, pre-negotiated discount to the market price.

Acqua Capital Management Co. is an advisor to Azimuth Opportunity.

Lexicon, a biopharmaceutical company, says it will use net proceeds from any sale of the securities for research, drug discovery and development activities, including the preclinical and clinical development of its lead programs: LX-6171 for cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and LX-1031 for irritable bowel syndrome.

The funds also may be used to speed up the advancement of Lexicon’s lead internal drug discovery programs in immunology and metabolism and for capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.

Late last month, Lexicon announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.extended the target discovery term of its neuroscience alliance with Lexicon for an additional two years.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lexicon first formed an alliance in December 2003 to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that address unmet medical needs in psychiatry and neurology. As part of the extension, Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide Lexicon $20 million in additional research funding over the two-year extended research term, which begins in January 2007.