Bentley Pharmaceuticals plans spinoff

Bentley Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that it plans to split its drug delivery division into a separate company so it can focus on developing generic drugs.

Bentley, which is based in Exeter, New Hampshire, plans to spinoff its delivery business into a company called CPEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., which like Bentley will be based in Exeter. Bentley will issue a dividend consisting of CPEX stock to Bentley shareholders, making them the owners of the new company.

Bentley's drug delivery business seeks ways to make it safer and easier to administer drugs. A drug taken orally can degrade before reaching the bloodstream, and some patients object to injections. The business has developed both a gel and inhalable spray, and then gets a licensing fee for those methods.

Bentley reported $109 million in revenue in 2006, of which $8.4 million came from CPEX. If CPEX were an independent company last year, it would have lost $4.2 million.

After spinning off CPEX, Bentley will focus on making generic drugs in Europe. The company makes generic versions of drugs like Merck's Zocor and GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil.

Bentley's board still needs to approve this deal, as do U.S. regulators. If approved, the new company's stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker "CPEX." (AP)