The buyer and seller were not immediately available for comment, but a public filing by Neurocrine reveals that the firm will sign a 10-year lease to stay in the properties, including its 94,000-sf headquarters property located at 10555 Science Center Dr. Company documents reveal Neurocrine "will receive cash of approximately $60 million net of fees, expenses and existing indebtedness."

The initial agreement provides options for Neurocrine to repurchase all of the properties. In a released statement, company CFO Timothy P. Coughlin said owning the properties had been a "profitable strategy for the company and our shareholders." He added that the sale would allow the firm to improve its financial position … (providing) us with the financial flexibility to advance our clinical and research programs and build equity in our pipeline."

It was a busy day for the firm as it released its Q3 results. The company reported a net loss of $27.2 million, or $0.72 loss per share compared to net loss of $39.1 million, or $1.03 loss per share, for the same period last year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2007, the company reported a net loss of $79.3 million, or $2.09 loss per share compared to net loss of $92.5 million, or $2.46 loss per share, for the same period in 2006. Company officials said, "the decrease in revenues for the three- and nine-month periods is primarily due to the cancellation of our collaboration agreement with Pfizer."