LONDON - Antisoma plc is going down to the wire as it tries to sign a deal on its lead product, Theragyn, before running out of money at the end of the year.

"We had the chance to raise more money but we've deliberately held off," CEO Glyn Edwards said. "We are deep in negotiations for a license to Theragyn, and we prefer to close that so we can deliver more value to existing investors," he told BioWorld International.

The company floated on the pan-European market Easdaq in December 1998, raising #10 million (US$16.5 million), but the escalating cost of the Phase III trial of Theragyn as an adjuvant treatment for ovarian cancer has left Antisoma with money for only three months.

"Of course, we have taken soundings with investors, and there would be an appetite for a fund-raising, so we may have to do that," Edwards said. Ideally he would like two years cash, but says it would be too dilutive to raise this amount before doing a deal on Theragyn.

"If we don't conclude the deal in time we will go for six to nine months funding of about #5 million," he said. "If we do get a deal it is conceivable we would not have to go back to the market. We would expect an up-front payment and for a partner to take over the cost of the Theragyn trial, which is currently eating half of the cash burn."

Edwards said he would feel vulnerable if he was in discussion with a single potential partner, but Antisoma, based in London, is in advanced discussions with more than one company.

Theragyn uses a monoclonal antibody to target a radioisotope to a tumor. Ongoing follow-up of patients treated in the Phase II trial shows a 75 percent 10-year survival compared to 30 percent for a historical control group. The Phase III multinational, multi-center, randomized study will recruit 300 women.

The treatment has orphan drug status in the U.S. The company also has begun a Phase II study of Theragyn in gastric cancer in the UK.