NeoRx Corp. grossed $7 million from the private placement of 1.32million unregistered units to seven institutional investors, the Seattlecompany said Friday.

The units were priced at $5.3125 apiece, the closing price ofNeoRx's stock (NASDAQ:NERX) on April 17. Each unit consists ofone share of common stock and a three-year warrant to purchase one-quarter share of stock for the same price.

NeoRx's stock closed Friday at $6 per share, down 31 cents.

Upon closing, the company will have 13.2 million shares outstandingand will issue warrants for 330,868 shares. Its first-quarter financialresults are expected to be released today. NeoRx reported $17.1million in cash and equivalents on Dec. 31, and is burning about $1million per month, meaning the company should have about $21million.

UBS Securities Inc., of New York, and Vector SecuritiesInternational Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., were placement agents.

"If we had not raised any money we would very shortly be in thearena of less than a year of cash on hand," said Robert Littauer,NeoRx's vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. "That'sa very serious situation to be in for a company at our stage."

Product and establishment licensing applications have been filed forNeoRx's lead product, OncoTrac small cell lung cancer imagingagent. The company's lead therapeutic product, Avicidin CancerTherapy, is in Phase I/II trials. And Biostent, an agent designed toprevent restenosis following balloon angioplasty, has been cleared forPhase I studies.

The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co., which has North Americanmarketing rights to OncoTrac, will pay NeoRx $4.5 million when theproduct is approved. One of the company's goals, Littauer said, is toform a strategic alliance for Avicidin or Biostent this year, and thenform an alliance for the other product in 1996. Together those moves,with the resulting decrease in burn rate, would put NeoRx in a strongfinancial position, he said. n

-- Jim Shrine

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