Genta Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) last Friday for a follow-on public offering of 2.5 millionshares of common stock. The offering will be its second roundof public financing. The San Diego company (NASDAQ:GNTA)went public in December of 1991 at $10 a share, grossing$28.75 million.

Lead underwriters for the secondary offering are Alex. Brown& Sons and Montgomery Securities. The underwriters have theright to exercise a standard 15 percent overallotment option(375,000 shares). As of last December, the company had 13.6million shares of common stock outstanding (14.5 million on afully diluted basis).

The company's long-term focus is developing antisense andtriple-strand technologies to treat diseases of genetic originthat are the result of production of a harmful protein, such aschronic myelogenous leukemia. In the short term, the companyis developing non-antisense products for dermatologicaldisorders such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and acne.

Genta's stock closed Tuesday at $10.25, down $1.25 a share.

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