LONDON ¿ Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc (CAT) is capitalizing on the dramatic rise in its share price since Christmas to raise #100 million (US$158 million) in a new share offer, and has applied for a listing on Nasdaq.

CEO David Chiswell told BioWorld International, ¿The aim is to accelerate our development. We are in a race to stake out territory, and I want to have many more products.

¿I want to do more of everything. The game is to get as broad a pipeline as possible. It must also be as diverse as possible because you are bound to lose things in the clinic.¿

This follows the announcement last week that CAT is combining resources with Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, Md., in a 10-year collaboration to develop and sell antibody therapeutics based on genomics targets discovered by HGS. HGS will make an up-front payment of US$67 million, consisting of $US55 million in equity for a 6 percent stake, and $12 million in licensing fees.

CAT¿s shares soared on the announcement, taking the market capitalization to over #1 billion. The share price rose by 112 percent in the week to close at #38.75 on Friday.

Chiswell said the alliance was a marriage which would bring together genomics as a source of targets with human antibodies as a major class of drugs. ¿This is a fantastic opportunity for both of us to build our pipelines and deliver the benefits of our technologies.¿

Under the deal CAT, of Cambridge, England, will get access to sequence and biological information from HGS, and has the right to select up to 24 proprietary HGS antigens for preclinical development. HGS on the other hand will have access to CAT¿s phage display technology for producing fully human antibodies, for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.

Chiswell said the collaboration would work in three ways: ¿Either we make antibodies and HGS develops them, or we make the antibodies and develop them, or we both choose targets and do the development together.¿

Both parties will be entitled to clinical development milestones and royalties on products developed by the other.

The collaboration will not focus on any particular disease areas, and there is no specific agreement on when any compounds would be outlicensed. ¿At any point you should be looking for partners, but one thing I think this deal will allow CAT to do is to take more of the financial risk and get more of the reward,¿ said Chiswell.

CAT¿s share price rose by #13.62 to #37.25 when the deal was announced on March 1. Just over two months ago it stood at #2. The price has been rising sharply since Dec. 24, when the company announced its then biggest deal to date, with G. D. Searle and Co. As part of the deal Searle paid $12.5 million for a 6.9 percent equity stake.

Chiswell said the #100 million fund-raising would put the company in a stronger position to negotiate more favorable terms in partnerships. ¿These additional funds will enable us to capitalize on our market-leading position, in particular to increase the value created by CAT, and allow CAT and its shareholders to capture more of this value.¿

Staff will be increased from 150 at present to 250 within the next 18 months.

CAT raised #41 million when it floated in March 1997. On approval of the HGS deal it will have around #64 million in cash. The company did not say if the further #100 million it intends to raise will see it through to profitability, noting, ¿The need for further fund-raising will depend on the timing and magnitude of revenues.¿