Innocoll confirms possible takeover discussions

Shares of US specialty pharma company Innocoll Holdings (Nasdaq: INNL) were up more than 37% at $1.88 by close of trading on Thursday (having exceeded the $2.00 level earlier), after the company confirmed it was in discussion which may or may not lead to an offer for the entire issued share capital of the company.

Innocoll said management has been investigating and continues to investigate strategic options for the company to maximize shareholder value. There can be no certainty that this will lead to an offer for Innocoll or any of its share capital nor as to the terms on which an offer, if any, might be made.

At the end of 2016 Innocoll took a severe battering after the US Food and Drug Administration issued a refusal to file letter for the company's product candidate for a treatment for post-surgical pain Xaracoll (bupivacaine HCl collagen-matrix implants). Xaracoll had been expected to be the first competitor to Pacira’s Exparel.