Alpha-Beta Technology Inc. completed a private placement of$20 million on Thursday by placing 1 million newly issuedshares of common stock at $20 per share to severalinstitutional investors.

The purchase agreements for the shares were signed June 3.Vector Securities International Inc. arranged the transaction.

Alpha-Beta (NASDAQ:ABTI) of Worcester, Mass., will use thenet proceeds from the offering primarily to advance clinicaltrials of Betafectin, its proprietary genetically engineeredcarbohydrate immunotherapeutic. The company has actuallycompleted one Phase II trial on Betafectin, for preventing andtreating post-surgical infection. Gary Ostroff, Alpha-Beta's vicepresident of research, reported those data in late January atthe Second International Congress on Biological ResponseModifiers in San Diego. A discrete, dose-ranging Phase II studyis ongoing in post-surgical infections. As well, Betafectin is in aPhase I/II for treating burns.

Alpha-Beta also intends to use the funds to finance continuedresearch and product development in other areas, including theCholestran program to treat elevated cholesterol levels.

The company raised $16 million in its initial public offering inOctober 1992 by selling 2 million shares at $8 each. And inFebruary the Rhode Island Port Authority and EconomicDevelopment Corp. priced $30 million in taxable revenue bondsto finance the construction of a manufacturing facility forAlpha-Beta.

With the completion of this latest offering, the company has10.9 million shares outstanding, fully diluted. The stock lost 38cents a share on Thursday to close at $23.88.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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