Somaxon to sell 4 million shares to raise funds for marketing insomnia drug Silenor

Somaxon share offering to fund insomnia drug plan

SAN DIEGO — Just days after receiving Food and Drug Administration approval for Silenor, biotech company Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc. made plans to sell 4 million shares to fund marketing of the insomnia drug.

Somaxon expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to 600,000 additional shares to cover overallotments, if any.

The company said in a regulatory filing it expects the sale to raise between $30.5 million and $35.2 million in the stock sale, based on the assumed price of $8.25 per share, its closing price on Friday.

The FDA approved the drug on Thursday for the treatment of short-term and long-term insomnia. The company expects to launch the drug in the second half of the year.

Jefferies & Co. is acting as sole book-running manager in the offering. The co-manager is Oppenheimer & Co.

Somaxon shares slipped 24 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $8.06 in aftermarket electronic trading following the announcement. The stock closed Monday trading up 5 cents at $8.30.