NeoRx Corp. will announce today that it has completed itsfollow-on public offering, raising $16 million on the sale of 2million shares of newly issued common stock (NASDAQ:NERX)at $8 per share, effective Monday.

This price reflects a one-for-four reverse stock split, which theSeattle company's shareholders approved at a special meetingon Dec. 7. The company has approximately 11.5 million sharesoutstanding following the offering and reverse split.

The infusion of cash just about doubles NeoRx's holdings; forthe quarter ended Sept. 30, the company had $17 million in thebank and was burning about $1 million per month.

NeoRx filed for the offering, which was underwritten by MabonSecurities Corp., on Nov. 2.

This is the first time that NeoRx has raised money from publicequity since its initial public offering in August 1988, when itsold 2.5 million shares at $7 per share, grossing $17.5 million.Since then the company has raised money through privatefinancing, most recently in August, when NeoRx garnered $9million through a PIPE (private investment in public entity)offering of 4.5 million newly issued shares at an 11 percentmarket discount.

The company intends to use the funds from its follow-onoffering "to maintain momentum" in all its productdevelopment areas, but particularly to start clinical trials withits cancer therapeutic antibody Avicidin, which employsNeoRx's pretargeting technology for radioimmunotherapy. Justlast week, the company got a green light from FDA to proceedwith Phase I trials on Avicidin for treating small cell lungcancer. NeoRx filed the investigational new drug (IND)application in September.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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