Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc. and California BiotechnologyInc. are the latest companies to enter the public offeringsmarket, which has opened up dramatically in the past month.

Last Friday, Mountain View, Calif.-based Cal Bio filed for asecondary public offering of 2.5 million shares of commonstock. If the offering is successfully completed, Cal Bio will have14.2 million shares of common stock outstanding.

The stock (NASDAQ:CBIO) closed at $14.63 on Friday, up 88cents.

The offering will be used to expand clinical trials of atrialnatriuretic peptide, a hormone produced by the heart, andfibroblast growth factor (FGF) to expand the company's pilotplant for the manufacture of FGF on a commercial scale and forgeneral corporate purposes.

Underwriters for the offering are Lehman Brothers, Hambrecht& Quist, and Cowen & Co., all of New York.

Gensia Pharmaceuticals Inc., ImmunoGen Inc., The Liposome Co.Inc. and Chiron Corp. have all filed for secondary offeringswithin the past month.

Regeneron, of Tarrytown, N.Y., became the second biotechcompany this year to file for an initial public offering (IPO) ofcommon stock. It offered 3 million shares priced between $16and $19 a share. Cygnus Therapeutic Systems of Redwood City,Calif., in January raised about $25.1 million in a 3 million-shareIPO.

If its offering is completed, Regeneron will have 14 millionshares of common stock outstanding. Proceeds of the offeringwill be used for working capital and general corporatepurposes.

Regeneron is focusing its research on treatments forneurodegenerative diseases, peripheral neuropathies and nerveinjuries. The company is developing three neurotrophic factors:brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). None have enteredclinical trials.

Regeneron had a net loss of $3.3 million for the year ended Dec.31 on revenues of $5 million.

Regeneron in January 1988 raised $2 million from MerrillLynch Venture Partners II L.P. It raised $6 million inNovember 1988 from Merrill Lynch, Sanderling Ventures, PriceVenture Partners III L.P., Vista III L.P. and the New York StateScience and Technology Foundation.

In March 1989, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. of Tokyo invested$10 million, including a $4.4 million investment, in exchangefor a 10 percent equity stake in Regeneron and $5.6 million aspart of a technology development agreement.

Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., gained a 7.3 percentequity stake in Regeneron for $15 million in August 1990.Amgen also pledged $38 million to develop BDNF and NT-3.Amgen and Regeneron formed Amgen-Regeneron Partners tocommercialize the products

The underwriters are Merrill Lynch & Co., Smith Barney, HarrisUpham & Co., and S.G. Warburg Securities, all of New York.

-- Karen Bernstein BioWorld Staff

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.