Neurex Corp. registered Wednesday to sell three million shares in asecondary offering that's expected to bring in about four times theamount the company raised in a similar financing last October.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company plans to use the money to supportcommercialization of Corlopam and to further development of SNX-111 and Corlopam. At Neurex's (NASDAQ:NXCO) closing priceWednesday of $17.13, up 50 cents on the day, the offering wouldgross $51.4 million. Montgomery Securities, of San Francisco, andSchroder Wertheim & Co., of New York, have an overallotmentoption on another 450,000 shares.

In an offering that closed Oct. 16, 1995, Neurex sold three millionshares at $4.50 apiece. The company currently has about 18.4 millionshares outstanding and nearly $22 million in cash, with a burn rate of$3 million per quarter.

Bradford Wait, Neurex vice president of finance and administration,said the burn rate is expected to increase and proceeds from theoffering should finance the company for at least two years.

Neurex also said Wednesday it received $2.25 million fromcollaborator Warner-Lambert Co., of Morris Plains, N.J. Warner-Lambert bought $1.5 million in stock, at $19.93 per share, tocomplete a $3 million equity investment, and paid $750,000 inadvance royalty payments.

Neurex plans to file a new drug application by the end of this quarterfor Corlopam, a dopamine receptor subtype agonist, for control ofblood pressure in surgical procedures. By the end of the year asupplement is expected to be filed seeking approval of Corlopam fortreatment of malignant hypertension. The drug was licensed fromLondon-based SmithKline Beecham plc.

SNX-111, a neuron-specific calcium channel blocker derived from asnail toxin, is being developed with Warner-Lambert and MedtronicInc., of Minneapolis. With Medtronic the synthesized peptide is in aPhase III trial for relief of severe pain in cancer and AIDS patients.Medtronic's programmable, implantable device is being used todeliver SNX-111 directly into the spinal column.

Warner-Lambert and Neurex are delivering SNX-111 intravenouslyin Phase II studies for preventing brain damage following closedhead trauma and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. n

-- Jim Shrine

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