By Matthew Willett

Microcide Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed for the sale of up to $35 million in securities with the SEC, putting into place the requirements for future financings.

Since its founding in 1992, Microcide has focused on discovering "essential genes" that regulate the life of bacteria or enable bacteria to become drug resistant. The approach allows the company to aim its efforts at only the pharmaceutically relevant portion of an organism's genome.

The company focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antimicrobials for treatment of serious bacterial, fungal and viral infections.

It uses two methods for antibiotic and antimicrobial development: Targeted Antibiotics, which addresses the existing bacterial and fungal resistance to therapeutics through the development of potentiators, and Targeted Genomics, a method of using bacterial, fungal and viral genetics to discover and develop novel antimicrobials.

Its three technology platforms, Cephalosporin Antibiotics, Efflux Pump Inhibition and Microbial Genomics, have generated five product candidates.

The shelf registration will support the company's first financing since its 1996 initial public offering. That financing produced proceeds of $35 million from the sale of 2.5 million shares.

Microcide's stock (NASDAQ:MCDE) rose 37.5 cents Monday, closing at $6.875. n