The quarterly earnings report Thursday from Trimeris -- once among the Triangle's most promising biotechnology companies -- could be one of its last.

After laying off all but 10 employees, winding down research and development and putting the company's Morrisville laboratory up for lease, the money managers and investment firms that make up Trimeris' board have decided to begin disbursing one of the company's remaining assets -- $80 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Martin Mattingly, who in November took over as the fourth Trimeris chief executive in a year, told analysts Thursday that the board had approved a plan to return up to $50 million to investors by the end of the year. As a first step, Trimeris stakeholders will receive a special cash dividend of about $33 million, or $1.50 per share.

Mattingly also announced plans to spend up to $17 million to buy back outstanding shares.

"We believe this is consistent with the goal of returning value to investors," Mattingly said.

Benefiting from the board's decisions will be mostly large institutional investors, said Sharon Seiler, a biotech analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann who has tracked Trimeris for years.

Seiler called the cash dividend a liquidation of the company in stages. She predicted that the company will disappear in less than a year.

"It's a pretty unusual strategy," she said, adding that the board had run out of options.

The company didn't have enough cash to buy a product that would have generated enough income, she said. And a lawsuit filed against Trimeris in November over a patent for its Fuzeon HIV treatment made it difficult to find a buyer for the company.

At its peak, Trimeris employed about 150 people and its stock traded near $80 a share. Fuzeon was much anticipated when it received regulatory approval in 2003. But the drug, burdened by high costs and troublesome side effects, never fulfilled its high expectations.

For the three months ended March 31, Trimeris reported $2.3 million in profit, or 10 cents per share. That was down 41 percent from $3.8 million a year ago, excluding one-time charges and payments.

Revenue from Fuzeon sales decreased nearly 36 percent to $5.6 million in the first quarter. Trimeris co-developed Fuzeon with its Swiss partner Roche, which also manufactures and markets the drug. The partners share the profits from Fuzeon sales in North America. Trimeris receives royalties on Fuzeon sales elsewhere.

Trimeris reported earnings after the close of U.S. stock markets. Its shares closed at $6.98, down 1 cent.