By Mary Welch

Genyzme Transgenics Corp. grossed $70 million through a public offering of 3.5 million shares at $20 per share, the proceeds of which will be used for general corporate purposes, working capital and investing in new technology.

The company originally priced the offering at $11.80 per share when it filed with the SEC on Jan. 6. However, the stock has soared since then. Genzyme Transgenics¿ stock (NASDAQ:GZTC) closed Friday at $25.125, up $4.625.

The net from the offering was expected to be $65.3 million. There now are about 25.9 million shares outstanding. In addition, after the offering, Cambridge, Mass.-based Genzyme Corp., the company largest stockholder, will own one-third of the outstanding common stock. Genzyme Corp. currently owns 7.42 million shares, or about 29 percent.

Warburg Dillon Read LLC and Chase H&Q LLC, both of New York, are the underwriters. They have been granted an overallotment option on 525,000 additional shares.

Genzyme, based in Framingham, Mass., posted revenues of $53.1 million for the nine months ending Oct. 3. The company posted a net loss of $13.4 million. The company had $5.6 million in cash on Oct. 3.

Genzyme Transgenic applies transgenic technology to the development and production of monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins for therapeutic and biomedical uses. It has more than a dozen collaborations.

Currently, it has five products in Phase II trials, including D2E7, a fully human monoclonal antibody for rheumatoid arthritis that is moving into Phase III; Antegren, another humanized monoclonal antibody, for neurological disorders; CTLA4Ig, an immunoglobulin fusion/soluble receptor for rheumatoid arthritis; and PRO542, a CD4/immunoglobulin fusion antibody for HIV and AIDS. The fifth is an unnamed immunoglobulin fusion protein for organ transplant rejection and autoimmune disorders.

The company, along with Genzyme General, recently reported positive Phase III data on a study of its transgenically produced recombinant human antithrombin III (rhATIII). The drug is designed to restore sensitivity to the anticoagulant heparin in patients who are resistant and who undergo elective heart surgery that require cardiopulmonary bypass. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 11, 2000, p. 1.)