Neose Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing complexcarbohydrate products, said Tuesday that it raised about $9.5 millionfrom the private placement of 2 million shares.The privately held Horsham, Pa., company also said it received a $2million equity investment from Abbott Laboratories in addition to $2million announced last year, bringing Abbott's position in Neose toabout 4.3 percent.David Pritchard, Neose's vice president of business development, toldBioWorld the venture with Abbott involves a "confidential product in anon-pharmaceutical application." He said the deal, worth up to $15million, also involves $6 million in potential milestone payments, andabout $5 million in internal investments for the project by Abbott.The private placement and equity investment leaves Neose with about11.7 million shares outstanding and $8 million in cash and equivalents.Paramount Capital of New York managed the placement, whichincluded investments from U.S. Healthcare Inc. and Edgewater PrivateEquity Fund L.P.Proceeds from the placement will be used to fund development ofNeose's human carbohydrate anti-infective and nutritional products, aswell as allowing further scale-up in anticipation of clinical trials.The company's lead product candidate is NE-0080 for the treatment ofHelicobacter pylori infection. Neose has synthesized a replica of thecell surface oligosaccharide to which the gastritis pathogen H. pyloribinds."What we're doing is interfering at the very basic level ofpathogenesis," Pritchard said. "Our plan is to file an IND(investigational new drug application) by the end of the year, whichwould get us into the clinic in early 1995."Neose also is developing NE-1530, a carbohydrate found on cellslining the airway, to prevent hospital-acquired pneumonia. It hopes tofile an IND on that product in 1995, Pritchard said."We're looking for partners to work with us on the development ofthese," Pritchard said. "We're talking to a number of companies."Under terms of the agreement with Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., Neosewill have manufacturing rights and receive royalties, while Abbott getsworldwide marketing rights. The two will share sublicensing fees forcompounds developed jointly. Pritchard said the non-pharmaceuticalnature of the undisclosed carbohydrate product should reducedevelopment time, potentially bringing in an earlier revenue stream. n

-- Jim Shrine Staff Writer

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