American Home Products Corp. bought $15 million inMedImmune Stock at a 62 premium as the companiesagreed Friday to amend promotion and royalty terms inparts of their alliance.

MedImmune's stock (NASDAQ:MEDI) gainedsignificantly on the news Friday as it closed up 88 cents,or 9 percent, at $10.50 after reaching a high of $11.50.American Home Products bought 967,742 shares at$15.50, and has a stake in MedImmune of about 5.5percent.

American Home Products (AHP), of Madison, N.J., hasbeen collaborating with Gaithersburg, Md.-basedMedImmune on the development of RespiGam and otherareas since its acquisition last year of AmericanCyanamid Co. MedImmune recently submitted anamendment to its product license application forRespiGam, an immunoglobulin enriched with antibodiesthat is being developed for respiratory syncytial virus.

Terms of the collaboration were unchanged forRespiGam, which was rejected by an FDA advisorycommittee in December 1993. MedImmune recentlysubmitted an amended application to include results oftwo Phase III studies completed last summer, whichassessed the polyclonal antibody's ability to preventinfants at a high risk of getting RSV disease fromdeveloping serious infections.

One study showed statistical significance while the otherdid not. (See BioWorld Today, July 20, 1995, p. 1.)

The amended terms of the MedImmune-AHP allianceinclude MedImmune's return of its right to co-promoteAHP's antibiotic, Zosyn; its reacquisition of AHP's rightto co-promote MedImmune's monoclonal antibody,MEDI-493, which is in early human studies for RSV; andconversion of MedImmune's co-funding and co-promotion obligation for AHP's RSV vaccine into a rightto receive royalties on sales. AHP would receive a royaltyon sales of MEDI-493.

MedImmune is in the process of completing its Phase Iprogram on MEDI-493, said Mark Kaufmann, thecompany's manager, strategic planning and investorrelations. "MEDI-493 is one of our most importantstrategic priorities."

Wayne Hockmeyer, MedImmune's chairman and CEO,said, "We are pleased to have been able to reacquireAmerican Home's co-promotion rights to MEDI-493 andintend to significantly expand our clinical developmentprogram during the next several months."

MedImmune reported $31.6 million in cash andmarketable securities on June 30, 1995. With the equityinvestment, and the company's nearly $8 million loss forthe first six months of 1995, MedImmune now shouldhave more than $42 million. With the stock sale it hasabout 17.7 million shares outstanding. n

-- Jim Shrine

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