National Editor

Cytogen Corp. pulled down $20.5 million through the sale of about 1.9 million shares at $11 per share pursuant to a shelf registration.

"It's really good news for us," said Michael D. Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Princeton, N.J.-based Cytogen, adding that the amount "puts Cytogen on course to enter 2004 with our strongest financial position in more than a decade."

Proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes, including sales, marketing and clinical development of marketed products. The company had $12.8 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30. It posted a net loss for the third quarter of $910,000 on revenues of $5.5 million. For the first nine months of the year, it lost $6.2 million.

Focused on cancer, Cytogen markets Quadramet, a skeletal targeting therapeutic radiopharmaceutical for the relief of pain due to bone metastases; ProstaScint, a monoclonal antibody-based imaging agent used to image the extent and spread of prostate cancer; and NMP22 BladderChek, a point-of-care, in vitro diagnostic test for bladder cancer.

The company also has exclusive U.S. marketing rights to Combidex, described as "an ultra-small super-paramagnetic" iron oxide contrast agent from Advanced Magnetics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., for magnetic resonance imaging of metastatic lymph nodes.

Combidex awaits FDA approval.

"With the publication and presentation of encouraging clinical data in leading peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences, we remain cautiously optimistic for approval of Combidex," Mr. Becker said, noting that Combidex received a priority review by the FDA and that the agency issued an approvable letter for Combidex in June 2000.

Data from the Phase III trial with Combidex (ferumoxtran-10) were published in the September issue of Radiology, showing the agent helped in the noninvasive evaluation of metastatic lymph nodes in patients with head and neck, chest, breast, abdominal and pelvic cancers.

The study involved 147 patients with primary malignancies who were suspected of having nodal metastases. Combidex-enhanced MR imaging improved diagnostic accuracy from 68 percent to 85 percent.

Mr. Becker said that Combidex is being reviewed by the medical imaging division of the FDA.

Cytogen's stock (NASDAQ:CYTO) closed Friday at $12.60, down 18 cents.