NicOx Raises EUR45.5 Million For Possible Vioxx Replacement

PARIS -(Dow Jones)- French biotech company NicOx SA (7413.FR) Friday said it has raised EUR45.5 million to develop its HCT 3012 drug, a possible market replacement for Merck Co.'s (MRK) pulled arthritis drug Vioxx.
In a statement through the French market regulator, the company said it sold 4.55 million new shares to 43 international institutional investors at EUR10 per share.
NicOx Chief Executive Michele Garufi told Dow Jones Newswires in March that HCT 3012 could replace Vioxx and generate yearly sales of between EUR1 billion and EUR2 billion.
Merck pulled Vioxx, its blockbuster arthritis drug, off ...