By Lisa Seachrist

Washington Editor

In the midst of completing a biologics license application for its lead cancer product, Campath, Ilex Oncology Inc. netted $46.9 million in a public stock offering.

The San Antonio, Texas, company sold 3.6 million shares of common stock at $14 per share. Another 400,000 shares were sold by a selling stockholder, CTRC Research Foundation, also of San Antonio. CTRC founded Ilex and is the company¿s majority shareholder.

CIBC World Markets Corp., of New York, served as lead underwriter for the offering. Prudential Vector Healthcare Group, of New York, and US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, of Minneapolis, are co-managers. The underwriters have an option to purchase up to 600,000 shares to cover overallotments. If exercised in full it would bring in another $8.4 million for Ilex.

The public offering was disclosed nearly two months ago, when the company proposed offering 3.2 million shares. Following the offering Ilex has about 20.87 million shares outstanding and nearly $85 million in cash. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 28, 1999, p. 1.)

The proceeds from the offering will be used by Ilex to fund studies of the seven drugs it currently has in the clinic and launch the clinical trial phase of several preclinical products. The company¿s most advanced product, Campath, a humanized antibody with anticancer properties, is initially targeted against chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The BLA for that indication is expected to be completed by year¿s end.

In addition to funding clinical research, Ilex may use its funds to acquire additional technologies .

Ilex has developed the product through a 50-50 joint venture with LeukoSite Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. Schering AG, of Berlin, has worldwide marketing rights to Campath, excluding Japan and East Asia, in a deal signed in August that provided the partnership $30 million in up-front cash and milestone payments, plus 67 percent of net profits.

The company is under an SEC-imposed quiet period and was unable to comment on this offering. Ilex¿s stock (NASDAQ:ILXO) closed Tuesday at $15.25, up 75 cents.