November 17, 2020 – The Court hearing the VIVUS cases has extended the periods during which the Debtors have an exclusive right to file a Plan and solicit acceptances thereof, through and including January 18, 2021 and March 19, 2021, respectively [Docket No. 364]. Absent the relief, the Plan filing and solicitation periods were scheduled to expire on November 4, 2020, and January 3, 2021, respectively.

In their requesting motion, the Debtors note that a recently reached post-mediation, settlement with IEH Biopharma LLC and their official committee of equity security holders (the "Equity Committee") had paved the way for filing of an amended (and confirmable) Plan, with that filing indeed occurring on November 10th. Pursuant to the Plan, the holder of the Debtors' convertible notes (Icahn Enterprises Holdings, LP, dba IEH Biopharma) will exchange that debt for 100% ownership of the emerged Debtors' equity.

A Plan confirmation hearing is scheduled for December 3, 2020.

The extension motion [Docket No. 327] explains, “This is the Debtors’ first (and hopefully only) request for an extension of the Exclusive Periods and it comes after the continued good faith efforts undertaken by the Debtors throughout these chapter 11 cases to drive these cases to a conclusion, as demonstrated by the Debtors’ recent success in securing the support of their key stakeholders for confirmation of a plan of reorganization. Following the Mediation, the Debtors will soon file the Plan, as amended to reflect the settlement agreed to by IEH and the Equity Committee, and seek confirmation of the Plan with the support of those key stakeholders. The Debtors request extensions of the Exclusive Periods to complete the confirmation process and consummate the transactions contemplated in the Plan without the uncertainty and distractions that would arise in the event that a competing plan is filed. As such, the Debtors have a reasonable, and anticipated, means for implementation of a successful reorganization….

The Debtors believe they are very close to confirmation of the Plan and execution of their goal in commencing these cases: approval of a consensual, value maximizing restructuring."

About the Debtors

According to the Debtors: “VIVUS is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of innovative therapies that focus on advancing treatments for patients with serious unmet medical needs.”

The Oki Declaration [Docket No. 17] adds: “VIVUS is a specialty pharmaceutical company with a twenty-one-year history of advancing innovative clinical therapies to address the therapeutic needs of patients with serious medical conditions and life-limiting diseases. The Company’s current approved therapies are: (i) Qsymia® (‘Qsymia’), a chronic weight management therapy; (ii) PANCREAZE®/PANCREASE® MT (‘Pancreaze’), a treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (‘EPI’) due to cystic fibrosis or other conditions; and (iii) STENDRA® (‘Stendra’), an FDA-approved erectile dysfunction (‘ED’) medication, which has also been approved by the European Commission (‘EC’) under the trade name SPEDRA (‘Spedra’). In addition to the three approved therapies, the Company is also developing a new medication — identified as VI-0106 — with the potential to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (‘PAH’).

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