By Mary Welch

Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc. intends to raise $150 million through a private offering of convertible subordinated notes due 2007, with an option to issue another $50 million in notes.

"We have nothing more to say other than the proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes," said John Vuko, chief financial officer. "We may also make strategic investments, acquire or license technology or products or acquire a business. It's general corporate purposes."

The company will offer the notes in the U.S. to qualified institutional buyers and institutional accredited investors. The Palo Alto, Calif., company would not name the investment firm that will help with the offering.

"We are not disclosing anything except what is necessary until after the offering is closed," Vuko said.

Incyte also released its 1999 fourth-quarter financial results, reporting revenues of $46 million, compared with $36.6 million for the fourth quarter of 1998. The company reported year-end revenues of $157 million, compared to $134.8 million for 1998.

The company had a net loss of $6.4 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter, as opposed to 5 cents for the same period in 1998. For the year, which ended Dec. 31, Incyte had a net loss of $26.8 million, or 95 cents per diluted shared, compared to a net income of $3.5 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, for the same period in 1998.

Incyte provides an integrated platform of genomic technologies aimed at understanding the molecular basis of diseases. It develops and markets genomic databases, genomic data management software, microarray-based gene expression services, related reagents and services.

Late last year, Incyte signed a deal, estimated at around $50 million, with New York-based Pfizer Inc. to jointly analyze all available sequence data and develop full-length clones for pharmaceutically relevant drug targets in the human genome. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 23, 1999, p. 1.)

Incyte's stock (NASDAQ:INCY) closed Thursday at $138.937, up $3.062.