Acusphere, Bayer, General Electric deal

Acusphere restructured the payment terms of a 2006 deal with General Electric and a 2005 deal with Bayer to defer near-term costs so the company can fund operations beyond the anticipated May 31 PDUFA date for its Imagify perflubutane to detect coronary artery disease. The company's board also elected not to pay a dividend to holders of its 6.5% convertible exchangeable preferred stock that would have been due March 1, which the company said would save $195,000. The cost-cutting measures will extend Acusphere's cash until June, and would allow the company to explore strategic partnerships and financing alternatives. At Sept. 30, 2008, Acusphere had $4.1 million in cash and a nine-month operating loss of $34.8 million. ...