MOLECULAR BIO RAISES $43.7 MILLIONMolecular Biosystems Inc. on Thursday said it has reachedagreement on a private placement of 1.9 million shares ofcommon stock at $23 per share to institutional investors inEurope and the United States, raising $43.7 million.

The transaction was arranged by County NatWest Ltd., VectorSecurities International Inc. and National Westminster Bankplc.

The company, based in San Diego, will use the money to expandoperations and fund the further development of new contrastagents for medical imaging.

The company will have 11.4 million shares of common stockoutstanding. The stock (NYSE:MB) closed unchanged at $25.13on Thursday.

IMMUNEX REPORTS LOSS FOR FIRST QUARTER

Immunex Corp. on Thursday reported that it lost $4.2 million,or 33 cents a share, in its first quarter ended March 31.

In the same quarter last year, when the Seattle companycollected one-time product development fees from itscollaborators, Immunex earned $5.1 million.

Revenues were $8.6 million vs. $15.3 million last year. Productsales climbed to $4.2 million in the current quarter comparedwith $1.3 million in 1990.

The company, whose stock has been falling because of negativeanalyst reports on its Leukine granulocyte macrophage colonystimulating factor (GM-CSF), said its rollout of Leukine hadbeen Iflawless.J Stephen A. Duzan, chairman and chiefexecutive officer, said Immunex remains "on track for meetingour sales and profitability goals for the year."

The stock (NASDAQ:IMNX) closed Thursday at $43.50, up 50cents.

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