SAN DIEGO, Calif.--After its initial public offering earlier this month, CombiChem announced the achievement of milestones in two of its collaborations. The computational chemistry company here offered 2.25 million shares at $8 per share in the offering managed by BancAmerica Robertson Stephens, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and Salomon Smith Barney. CombiChem offered underwriters an option to buy an additional 337,500 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.
The company later announced that it has achieved milestones in separate drug discovery collaborations with the Japanese company Teijin and Roche Biosciences. Its Roche milestone--the result of a project begun in October 1996--related to optimization of novel inhibitors for a potential new treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases. For Teijin, CombiChem had success in the evolution and optimization of a series of novel receptor antagonists useful in various inflammatory diseases. Several compounds have been identified in the collaboration and they are now being evaluated in more detailed studies by Teijin prior to selection of a development candidate.