Trimeris to pay stockholders $50 million

Morrisville, N.C. — Trimeris (Nasdaq: TRMS), down to 10 employees after a series of cutbacks, is using most of its $80 million in cash to reward stockholders and to buy back stock.

The biopharmaceutical firm, under pressure from new board members, said Thursday after the markets closed that it would pay a cash dividend of $1.50 per share to stockholders of record as of May 22. The dividend will be paid June 6.

Trimeris, which sells the HIV drug Fuzeon, also said it would spend another $17 million to buy back shares.

Trimeris stock closed at $6.98, down 1 cent, on Thursday before the firm announced the dividend, stock buyback and quarterly earnings.

For the quarter ending March 31, Trimeris reported a profit of $2.3 million, or 10 cents a share.