Carrington Laboratories Inc. announced Thursday it raised$4,725,000 in a private placement involving approximately 12investors.

According to the company, the funds will be used for researchand development, to retire bank financing and for generalcorporate funding.

Earlier this year, due to unfavorable market conditions,Carrington postponed a public offering in which it hoped toraise $13 million and an additional $30 million for CarntechInc., a company recently spun off by Carrington to develop itslead compound, acemannan, in two programs: as a therapeuticfor ulcerative colitis, and cancer.

The postponed offering wasn't crucial, said Steve Brown,Carrington's vice president for finance, because the company iscurrently operating on profits from its line of skin-care andveterinary products. "We still want to complete the financingfor Carntech when the market is there," he said.

The company completed in October Phase I/II Canadian trialsusing acemannan, a complex carbohdrate derived from the aloevera plant, as a combination therapy with AZT for AIDS, andhopes to have results by the end of the year. The compound isin Phase I U.S. trials for AIDS in healthy volunteers.

The Irving, Texas, company (ASE:CRN) re-formed in 1973following the sale of its cosmetics business to focus on thedevelopment of polysaccharide-based biopharmaceuticals forthe treatment of major illnesses and wound manangement.

Carrington's stock was up 25 cents a share on Thursday to$12.88. -- Michelle Slade

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