Aphton Corp. said it sold 1.345 million shares of stock at $12.70 per share, raising gross proceeds of about $17.1 million to fund its clinical trials programs.

UBS Warburg led the transaction and Morgan Keegan & Company Inc. acted as co-manager. The transaction is expected to close Thursday.

The Miami-based company said earlier this year that it had filed a shelf registration with the SEC covering 1.5 million shares that it could sell from time to time. Selling the entire amount would have given Aphton about 18.89 million shares outstanding.

Aphton said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including funding its ongoing clinical trials.

According to the shelf registration statement, Aphton had cash and short-term cash investments before the financing that would enable it fund operations through the first quarter. The company’s burn rate during the eight months ended Sept. 30 averaged $2.3 million per month.

The filing also said the company has a Phase III trial with its anti-gastrin vaccine for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The vaccine contains antibodies to neutralize gastrin 17, a hormone that is released after eating and is linked to cancer. It also is developing products to neutralize proteins to prevent pregnancy.

Aphton is conducting two Phase II trials with its anti-gastrin vaccine. One Phase II trial is for patients with colorectal cancer who are no longer responding to chemotherapy. The second Phase II trial is for patients diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer.

The company also has a Phase II trial of it GnRH pharmaccine, a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of chronic diseases and cancer, including prostate cancer patients who no longer are responding to chemotherapy.

Aphton has strategic alliances with Aventis Pasteur, of Lyon, France; GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London; Schering-Plough Animal Health, a unit of Schering-Plough Corp., of Madison, N.J.; and the World Health Organization.

Aphton’s stock (NASDAQ:APHT) fell $1.14 Tuesday to close at $11.60.