Senior Staff Writer

The Medicines Co. filed a registration statement to offer up to 4 million shares of stock to fund its pipeline and, most notably, Angiomax.

The company said in its prospectus it expected to receive, assuming an offering price of $18.94 per share, about $70.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other expenses. Underwriters have an option for 600,000 shares to cover overallotments, which, if exercised in full, would raise The Medicines Co.'s net proceeds to about $81.5 million, it said.

Morgan Stanley and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., both of New York, are joint book-running managers. CIBC World Markets Corp., also of New York, is serving as co-manager.

The Medicines Co.'s stock (NASDAQ:MDCO) fell 62 cents Wednesday to close at $18.10. Following the offering, the company would have 44.8 million shares outstanding.

Based in Parsippany, N.J., the company said it plans to use proceeds to fund development and commercialization of Angiomax (bivalirudin). It said it also would use funds to develop clevidipine, an agent designed to control blood pressure, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Angiomax - in-licensed from Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., in a deal valued at up to $30 million when announced in 1997 - was approved in December 2000 for use as an anticoagulant in combination with aspirin in patients with unstable angina undergoing coronary angioplasty. The Medicines Co. began selling it in the U.S. in January 2001. That year, the Medicines Co. brought in net revenue of $14.2 million and another $38.3 million in 2002 - most of which was generated from U.S. Angiomax sales, it said.

It has completed enrollment in a Phase III trial studying Angiomax in the treatment of HIT/HITTS patients undergoing coronary angioplasty and expects to report results in this year. It is conducting a Phase II/III trial of Angiomax as an anticoagulant in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, with or without the use of a bypass pump, and in HIT/HITTS patients undergoing CABG, with or without the use of a bypass pump. The company also plans to start a randomized Phase III trial of Angiomax in patients presented to the emergency department with acute coronary syndromes who may be medically managed or ultimately treated in the catheterization laboratory or operating room. There is a Phase II study beneath that and other clinical investigations under way.

Clevidipine was in-licensed last year from AstraZeneca plc, of London. The company expects to begin Phase III trials this year in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. AstraZeneca conducted Phase II trials before out-licensing the product.

As of Dec. 31, the company had $43.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities. It posted a net loss for the fourth quarter of $9.8 million, or 25 cents per share. For the year, it lost $45.8 million.