Ann: Race Completes On-Market Buy-Back Program, page-12

Or one could argue that it was intended to return excess capital to its rightful owners. Just like we didn't take more money than we needed in the SPP, we were able to find a way to utilise our capital more efficiently. This created a capital excess to the company's needs at the time and so we chose to return it via the buy back process (companies like Race can't pay dividends).

The really innovative aspect of the buy back was the idea that a biotech company with excess capital should return it to its owners, rather than just spending it on executive perks and salaries.