BioTransplant Inc., a Massachusetts start-up company targeting drugsto counter organ transplant rejection, is hoping to raise between $22million and $28 million in an initial public offering (IPO) of 2.5million shares.

The firm, located in Charlestown, Mass., also is a major player in thefledgling field of xenotransplantation, which involves using animalorgans for human transplant.

In registering for the IPO, BioTransplant targeted a price range ofbetween $9 and $11 per share for the 2.5 million share equity sale.Underwriters UBS Securities Inc., of New York, and Pacific GrowthEquities Inc., of San Francisco, have options to buy another 375,000shares to cover overallotments.

At the end of 1995, BioTransplant said it had $2.8 million in cashwith a net loss for the year of $2 million. Following the IPO thecompany will have about 7.8 million shares outstanding.

BioTransplant has a collaboration with MedImmune Inc., ofGaithersburg, Md., for drugs to prevent human-to-human organtransplant rejection. The alliance includes monoclonal antibodiesdeveloped by both companies to inhibit T cells responsible for arecipient's immune system rejection of a donor organ.

While MedImmune's Medi-500 antibody suppresses most T cells,BioTransplant's antibody, BTI-322, is more selective. BTI-322 is inthree Phase I/II trials for acute transplant rejection and prevention ofgraft-vs.-host disease.

The collaboration with MedImmune could be worth up to $16 millionto BioTransplant, which also would receive royalties on the Medi-500 antibody and related products.

BioTransplant also has an agreement with Sandoz Ltd., of Basel,Switzerland, to study the use of organs from inbred miniature pigs fortransplant into humans.

Unlike other xenotransplant firms creating transgenic pigs, which aregenetically engineered with human genes to prevent rejection ofanimal organs, BioTransplant developed a method of mixingelements of the pig and human immune systems in the bone marrowof the organ recipient. The resultant bone marrow chimerism createsan immune system that does not attack the donor animal organ andstill leaves intact all other immune defenses.

Sandoz, which last week said it was merging with fellow Basel-baseddrug maker Ciba-Geigy Ltd., has agreed to pay up to $30 million inresearch funding and licensing fees to BioTransplant. n

-- Charles Craig

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.