Lynx Therapeutics Inc. said Monday it closed on a private financingof $6 million, and also appointed David Martin as its president and amember of the board.Lynx, of Hayward, Calif., has raised about $35.5 million since itsfounding in 1992. The new money is earmarked to help accelerate thedevelopment of two programs.One program involves a new DNA analogue that shows promise inthe ability to modulate foreign or faulty genes. The other, thecompany said, is expected to lead to a technique designed for thesimultaneous identification and quantification of all gene expressionin a given cell.Investors in the financing included:US Venture Partners, of Menlo Park, Calif.; Sprout Capital, of MenloPark; Biotechnology Investments Ltd., of London; Cannon StreetFund Ltd., of Charlottesville, Va.; Asset Management Co., of PaloAlto, Calif.; Partech International, of San Francisco; New York LifeInsurance Co., of New York; and Fujigin Capital Co., of Tokyo.Lynx's major collaboration is with Wellcome plc, of London, on thedevelopment of a synthetic oligonucleotide for the treatment ofrestenosis.Lynx already has received $4.6 million in an agreement potentiallyworth $30 million, said Sam Eletr, Lynx's chairman and CEO.Wellcome (now Glaxo plc) also will assume all costs related todevelopment and marketing of a restenosis drug. A safety study isongoing in Argentina.Lynx has an exploratory-stage collaboration with Chiron Corp.targeting viruses, completed a Phase I study of an antisense drug foracute myelogenous leukemia, and have Phase I trials ongoing inchronic myelogenous leukemia.Martin was senior vice president at Chiron, of Emeryville, Calif., andpresident of Chiron Therapeutics. Before that he held posts at DuPontMerck Pharmaceuticals Co. and Genentech Inc. n

-- Jim Shrine

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