Enzo Biochem Inc. on Thursday said it will not pay its March 15interest payment of $1.3 million due to holders of its 9 percentconvertible subordinated debentures.

The company said the decision was made to preserve workingcapital.

Enzo said it discussing a loan from J. Morton Davis. Such a loanwould be contingent on the restructuring of Enzo's obligationsunder its debentures, of which $29.9 million in principal isoutstanding. Davis, who is chairman of D.H. Blair & Co. Inc. ofNew York, held 8.7 percent of Enzo common stock as ofNovember 1989.

Enzo (AMEX:ENZ) reported a loss of $952,000 on revenues of$5.5 million for its first quarter ended Oct. 31, 1990. Enzo had anet loss of $2.5 million on revenues of $21.6 million for theyear ended July 31, 1990, compared with a net loss of $4.1million on revenues of $15.8 million in 1989. Second-quarterresults will be reported in mid-March.

The New York-based company manufactures and markets DNAprobe-based diagnostic products and services and is developingtherapeutics based on antisense nucleic acid technology. -- KB

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