British Bio-technology Group plc said Monday that it has done asilent filing for an initial public offering of shares. Neither thenumber of shares nor the proposed price range have beendetermined.

The Oxford, England, company has finished Phase I trials of itsAIDS immunotherapeutic and plans to enter Phase II trialslater this year.

The drug, which is designed to delay the onset and/or slow theprogression of AIDS, uses virus-like particles that carry thep17 and p24 HIV core proteins on their surfaces. The non-replicating VLPs present foreign proteins to the body's immunesystem to stimulate a response.

British Bio-technology also plans to begin Phase I trials of itsBB-94 cancer drug in post-menopausal breast cancer patients.The drug is a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor that preventscancer cells, once they have entered the bloodstream, fromgetting through the endothelial walls into other tissues.

A third drug, BB-882, will begin Phase I trials late this year orin early 1993. An antagonist to the inflammatory chemical PAF,its potential uses include preventing asthma and treatingendotoxic shock.

British Bio-technology is the second U.K.-based biotechcompany to file for a U.S. IPO. Earlier this month, CantabPharmaceuticals plc, formerly Immunology Ltd., proposed a 2million-share offering at $10 to $12 per share.

British Bio-technology has raised about $175 million since1986. The company raised $75 million in its most recent roundlast July.

Morgan Stanley will manage the offering in the United Statesand Kleinwort Benson will manage the U.K. offering. -- KB

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