West Coast Editor

Its primary weapon Actimmune having just entered Phase III studies for yet another indication, InterMune Inc. said it is going to the shelf for a proposed offering of 2.5 million shares, which would raise more than $90 million at Thursday’s closing price of $36.31.

Brisbane, Calif.-based InterMune filed the shelf registration late last year to offer up to $150 million in stock. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 27, 2001.)

Spokespeople said the company is in a quiet period as required by the SEC, and could not comment on the offering.

Acting as joint book-running managers in the offering are Lehman Brothers Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., both of New York. Co-managing underwriters are JP Morgan Securities Inc., of New York; Robertson Stephens Inc., of San Francisco; UBS Warburg LLC, of New York; and Adams Harkness & Hill Inc., of Boston. Underwriters will have the option to purchase up to an additional 375,000 shares to cover overallotments.

Actimmune disclosed in February that it will test Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) as an adjunctive, first-line treatment for ovarian cancer in 800 recently diagnosed patients. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 6, 2002.)

The drug already is marketed in the U.S. for chronic granulomatous disease and severe, malignant osteopetrosis. Phase II and Phase III clinical studies are planned or under way in such conditions as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cryptococcal meningitis, cystic fibrosis and atypical mycobacterial infections.

InterMune’s stock (NASDAQ:ITMN) closed Friday at $33.83, down $2.48.