The Liposome Company Inc. (TLC) announced Friday that itraised $57 million in a preferred stock offering, the largestamount it has raised in a single offering.

Hambrecht & Quist Inc. and Dillon, Read & Co. served asunderwriters.

The Princeton, N. J., company (NASDAQ:LIPO) hit its targetamount in a selective market, Anne Van Lent, senior vicepresident, told BioWorld. The offering -- the first preferredstock offering since the company has been publically traded --began Dec. 4 and ended Friday.

The offering consisted of 2.4 million depositary shares, each ofwhich represents one-tenth of a share of series A cumulativeconvertible exchangeable preferred stock carrying a 7.75percent dividend rate. Priced at $25 per share, the depositaryshares are convertible at any time into shares of common stockof the company at a conversion price of $12.85 per share ofcommon stock.

On Friday, the depositary shares began trading on the NASDAQsystem under the symbol LIPOZ. Shares of common stockcontinue to trade under the symbol LIPO.

The depositary shares closed Friday at $25.38, while thecommon stock was down 38 cents a share to $10.63.

The company said it will use the proceeds primarily fordevloping and testing its self-funded products, including itspotential therapeutic for systemic fungal infections,amphotericin B-lipid complex (ABLC).

TLC reacquired worldwide rights to ABLC from Bristol-MyersSquibb last November to accelerate clinical development andregulatory filing. The two companies are currently discussingBristol's role in marketing the agent, which is in clinical trials todetermine its efficacy in such infections as invasive candidiasis,one of the largest potential applications in immune-suppressedindividuals who are susceptible to systemic fungal infections.

Dedicated exclusively to developing liposome and lipid-basedpharmaceuticals, TLC has four drugs in clinical trials. ABLC is inPhase II/III studies for the treatment of systemic fungalinfections, TLC G-65 is in Phase II trials in the U.S. and PhaseIII in Europe for the treatment of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI) infections in AIDS patients, TLC D-99 is inPhase II for treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and TLC c-53 is in Phase I trials in preparation for studies in AdultRespiratory Distress Syndrome.

-- Nancy Garcia Associate Editor

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