XOMA LTD
8-K, 1996-04-22
PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS
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                           UNITED STATES
                 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                      Washington, D.C.  20549

                              FORM 8-K

                           CURRENT REPORT

               Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported):  April 22, 1996

                        XOMA CORPORATION                        
   ------------------------------------------------------------
       (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                             Delaware                           
   ------------------------------------------------------------
           (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)



          0-14710                          94-2756657            
- - -------------------------------    -----------------------------
(Commission File Number)        (IRS Employer Identification No.)

2910 Seventh Street, Berkeley, California                94710   
- - ------------------------------------------       ---------------
(Address of principal executive offices)              (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code (510) 644-1170
                                                   --------------
                               None                              
- - -----------------------------------------------------------------
  (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

















  
<PAGE>



Item 5.  Other Events

            On April 22, 1996, XOMA Corporation and Genentech,
Inc. issued the announcement attached hereto as Exhibit 1,
which is incorporated herein by reference.


Item 7.  Exhibits

            1     Press Release.






































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                                 SIGNATURE

            Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this
report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.

Dated:    April 22, 1996                XOMA CORPORATION


                                        By: /s/Christopher J.Margolin
                                            -----------------------------
                                             Christopher J. Margolin
                                              Vice President, General
                                              Counsel and Secretary


































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<PAGE>



                               EXHIBIT INDEX


Number      Description
- - ------      -----------
1           Press Release










































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<PAGE>
                                                            EXHIBIT 1

                             [XOMA LETTERHEAD]




News Release


                  Genentech Contacts:
                  Media:              Kathleen Rinehart     (415) 225-8681
                  Media:              Laura Leber           (415)  225-5759
                  Investor:           Lisa Brock            (415) 225-1034
                  XOMA Contact:
                  Ellen M. Martin     (510) 644-1170  or (800) BIO XOMA


                  GENENTECH AND XOMA AGREE TO DEVELOP JOINTLY
            Anti-CD11a FOR PSORIASIS AND ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
      - GNE to buy 1.5 million shares of XOMA stock as part of agreement
            in which XOMA will develop anti-CD11a through Phase II-


SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO AND BERKELEY, CA -- April 22, 1996 --
Genentech, Inc. (NYSE:GNE) and XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA)
announced this morning a collaborative agreement to develop
jointly Genentech's anti-CD11a monoclonal antibody product for
treatment of psoriasis and for organ transplant rejection.

Genentech has purchased 1.5 million shares of XOMA common stock
for approximately $6 per share and will fund XOMA's development
costs for anti-CD11a through 1998 via a series of convertible sub-
ordinated loans.  XOMA is expected to realize in excess of $20
million in funding from the arrangement.

Under the terms of the agreement, XOMA will scale-up and develop
anti-CD11a, and bring it through Phase II clinical trials.  After
completion of Phase II trials, Genentech will determine the prod-
uct's future development strategy.  Upon meeting certain mile-
stones, XOMA will have an option to participate in development
through U.S. approval, after which they will have earned the right
to co-promote and share in the profits in the United States and
receive royalties on sales elsewhere.

"Genentech's pipeline of high-promise products is demanding the
full attention of our clinical development resources," said
Genentech President and CEO Arthur Levinson, Ph.D. "Therefore, I'm



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<PAGE>

delighted with this partnership with XOMA, which brings XOMA's
impressive GMP scale-up and clinical development capabilities to
bear on the anti-CD11a project while reserving Genentech's own
resources for the many other products currently in development."

"We see this as a significant opportunity to gain additional value
from XOMA's manufacturing and clinical infrastructure and exper-
tise," said John L. Castello, XOMA Chairman, President and CEO.
"We can profit from our considerable experience in developing
recombinant pharmaceuticals and bring a new product into our pipe-
line.  This transaction is an endorsement of our management expe-
rience and development capabilities by what is universally
regarded as one of the premier biopharmaceutical companies in the
world," said Castello.

Anti-CD11a is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits cells
in the immune system called T-cells from attacking other cells or
tissues by preventing activation of these T-cells.  The product
will be developed as a treatment for organ transplant rejection
and for certain inflammatory disorders, such as psoriasis.

Genentech, Inc. is a leading biotechnology company that discovers,
develops, manufactures and markets human pharmaceuticals for sig-
nificant unmet medical needs.  Ten of the currently marketed
biotechnology products stem from Genentech research, five of which
Genentech markets directly.  The company has headquarters in South
San Francisco, California, and its stock is traded on the New York
and Pacific Stock Exchanges under the symbol GNE.

XOMA Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company developing prod-
ucts for the treatment of infections and immunologic disorders.
The company is focused primarily on the accelerated development of
products derived from a human host-defense protein, BPI
(bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein).  Neuprex(TM), XOMA's
first BPI-derived product, is currently in clinical trials for
four different indications.












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