DISCOVERY LABORATORIES INC /DE/
424B3, 2000-06-06
BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS, (NO DIAGNOSTIC SUBSTANCES)
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                                3,850,534 Shares

                          DISCOVERY LABORATORIES, INC.

                                  Common Stock


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         All of the shares of common stock covered by this  prospectus are owned
by the  stockholders  listed in the section of this  prospectus  called "Selling
Stockholders"  or are  issuable on  exercise  of  warrants  owned by the selling
stockholders.  The selling stockholders may sell any or all of their shares from
time to time. See "Plan of Distribution."

         We will  not  receive  any of the  proceeds  of  sales  by the  selling
stockholders.  We have  agreed to bear all  expenses  related to this  offering,
other than underwriting  discounts and commissions and any transfer taxes on the
shares of common stock that the selling stockholders are offering.

         Our common  stock is traded on the  Nasdaq  SmallCap  Market  under the
symbol "DSCO."

         Investing  in this common  stock  involves a high  degree of risk.  See
"Risk Factors" beginning on page 3.

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         Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities
commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this
prospectus  is truthful or  complete.  Any  representation  to the contrary is a
criminal offense.

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                  The date of this Prospectus is June 2, 2000.









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                                TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                           Page

Prospectus Summary............................................................1

Company Summary...............................................................1

Risk Factors..................................................................3

Forward-Looking Statements...................................................12

Additional Information.......................................................12

Use of Proceeds..............................................................13

Selling Stockholders.........................................................13

Plan of Distribution.........................................................15

Where You Can Find More Information..........................................16

Information Incorporated by Reference........................................16

Experts  ....................................................................16

Legal Matters................................................................16








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                               PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

         Because this is a summary, it does not contain all the details that may
be important to you. You should read this entire prospectus carefully before you
invest.


                                 COMPANY SUMMARY

         We are a  development  stage  pharmaceutical  company  that  focuses on
developing  compounds to treat  respiratory  diseases that affect the ability of
the  lungs to  absorb  oxygen.  We are  initially  developing  our lead  product
candidate,  Surfaxin(R),  for use by newborn  infants  to treat two  respiratory
conditions in critical care units of hospitals. We are also developing this lead
product candidate for the treatment of acute  respiratory  distress syndrome and
acute lung injury in adult patients.  We believe we can use Surfaxin(R) to treat
other  respiratory   conditions.   These  include  asthma,  chronic  obstructive
pulmonary disease, emphysema and cystic fibrosis. In addition, we believe we can
use  Surfaxin(R)  to deliver  drugs that are  currently  delivered by injection.
These  drugs  include  antibiotics,   pulmonary  vasodilators,   brochodilators,
steroids  and  proteins.  We are  also  evaluating  acquiring  licenses  to drug
candidates in the early stage of  development  for the treatment of  respiratory
diseases.  We may  develop  and market our  products on our own or seek to enter
into  collaborations  with corporate  partners for  manufacturing  and marketing
these drugs.

                  Our lead product is Surfaxin(R).  Surfaxin(R) is a formulation
of an artificial lung  surfactant  containing a peptide or chain of amino acids.
We patterned  Surfaxin(R)  after a human  surfactant  protein.  Surfactants  are
substances that are produced in the lungs. They possess the ability to lower the
surface  tension  of the fluid  normally  present  within  the air sacs that are
inside of the lungs.  In the absence of sufficient  surfactants,  these air sacs
tend to collapse. As a result, the lungs do not absorb sufficient oxygen.

                  We intend to use  Surfaxin(R)  for the  treatment  of  several
respiratory  conditions.  Currently,  we  are  developing  Surfaxin(R)  for  the
treatment  of  respiratory  distress  syndrome in  premature  infants,  meconium
aspiration syndrome in full-term infants and acute respiratory distress syndrome
and acute lung injury in adults.  We have also begun  developing  Surfaxin(R) to
treat other respiratory disorders.

                  Respiratory   distress   syndrome  is  a  condition  in  which
premature  infants  are born with an  insufficient  amount of their own  natural
surfactant.  Meconium  aspiration  syndrome  is a  similar  condition,  in which
full-term infants are born with meconium in their lungs.  Meconium is the baby's
first bowel movement in the mother's  womb.  This condition can lead to meconium
aspiration  syndrome  if the  baby  breathes  in the  meconium.  Both  of  these
conditions  can be  life-threatening  as a result of the failure of the lungs to
absorb sufficient oxygen.  These conditions can also deplete natural surfactants
in the  lungs.  This  results  in the need  for  mechanical  ventilation.  Acute
respiratory distress syndrome can result from a variety of events. Some of these
events are pneumonia,  breathing in the contents of the stomach,  trauma,  smoke
inhalation, near drowning and head injury.

                  Acute respiratory distress  syndrome/acute lung injury affects
approximately  240,000  patients  per  year in the  United  States.  Respiratory
distress  syndrome in premature  infants  affects 40,000 to 50,000  newborns per
year in the United States.  Twenty to forty percent of infants with  respiratory
distress syndrome require extended mechanical  ventilation and  hospitalization.
Meconium  aspiration syndrome affects  approximately  26,000 newborn infants per
year in the United States.






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                  Presently,  the FDA has only approved replacement  surfactants
for treating respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants.  These approved
replacement  surfactants  come from pigs and cows.  Surfaxin(R)  is a  synthetic
surfactant.  As a result,  we believe that we can manufacture  Surfaxin(R)  less
expensively.  In  addition  we believe  that  Surfaxin(R)  might  possess  other
pharmaceutical  benefits not  possessed by animal  surfactants.  The FDA has not
approved  replacement  surfactants for treatment of meconium aspiration syndrome
and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The FDA has granted meconium aspiration
syndrome and acute respiratory  distress syndrome fast track  designation.  Fast
track status does not accelerate  the clinical  trials nor does it mean that the
regulatory requirements are less stringent. However, the FDA will review the New
Drug Application for a drug granted fast track status within six months. The FDA
has awarded us an orphan drug grant to support our development of Surfaxin(R) in
meconium aspiration syndrome.

                  We also intend to begin  preclinical  research into converting
Surfaxin(R)  into  an  aerosol  spray  for  the  treatment  of  asthma,  chronic
obstructive  pulmonary  disease,  acute and chronic  bronchitis and a variety of
other respiratory diseases.

                  Our second  compound under  development is  SuperVent(TM).  We
intend to use SuperVent(TM) to treat airway diseases such as cystic fibrosis and
chronic bronchitis.  We deliver  SuperVent(TM) to patients using a nebulizer.  A
nebulizer  is a device that turns  liquid into mist,  making it  breathable.  We
anticipate using  SuperVent(TM)  for the treatment of lung conditions  involving
inflammation, excessive mucous and injurious oxidation. Injurious oxidation is a
condition  where atoms in tissue lose  electrons,  which can result in damage to
the tissue.

                  Cystic fibrosis is a progressive,  lethal respiratory  disease
that  afflicts  approximately  23,000  patients  in  the  United  States  and  a
comparable  number in Europe.  Cystic fibrosis is the most common lethal genetic
disease among Caucasians.  Because of this genetic defect, mucus accumulates and
clogs the lungs,  impairing  breathing.  This can lead to gradual destruction of
the lungs of cystic  fibrosis  patients.  The  inability to clear mucus from the
lungs can lead to blockage of the  airways in the lungs.  A new therapy  that is
intended to minimize the  complications  of cystic  fibrosis  could have a major
impact on the length and quality of life of its patients.

                  We are  conducting  clinical  trials  of  Surfaxin(R)  for the
treatment of respiratory  distress syndrome,  meconium  aspiration  syndrome and
acute respiratory  distress syndrome.  In addition,  we are conducting  clinical
trials of SuperVent(TM) for treatment of cystic fibrosis.

                  In October  1999,  we entered into a sublicense  agreement and
exclusive manufacturing agreement for Surfaxin(R) in the territories of southern
Europe and Latin America with Laboratorios Del Dr. Esteve, S.A.

                  Surfaxin(R)  and  SuperVent(TM)   are  our  trademarks.   This
prospectus  also includes  product  names,  trademarks  and trade names of other
companies, which names are the exclusive property of the holders thereof.

                  Our  executive  offices are located at 350 South Main  Street,
Suite  307,  Doylestown,  Pennsylvania  18901.  Our  telephone  number  is (215)
340-4699 and our facsimile number is (215) 340-3940.




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                                  RISK FACTORS

         Investing  in our  common  stock  involves a high  degree of risk.  You
should  consider  carefully the following risk factors  together with all of the
other  information  included or  incorporated  by reference  in this  prospectus
before  you  decide  to  purchase  shares  of our  common  stock.  The risks and
uncertainties  described  below  are not  the  only  ones  facing  our  company.
Additional  risks  and  uncertainties  not  presently  known  to us or  that  we
currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.

If any of the following risks actually occur, our business,  financial condition
and results of operations  could be materially and adversely  affected.  In this
event,  the trading  price of our common stock could  decline and you could lose
part or all of your investment.

Because We Are a Development Stage Company, We May Not Successfully  Develop and
Market Our Products,  and Even If We Do, We May Not Generate  Enough  Revenue or
Become Profitable.

We are a development stage company.  Therefore, you must evaluate us in light of
the uncertainties and complexities  present in a development stage biotechnology
company.  We are conducting  research and development on our product candidates.
Accordingly,  we have  not  begun  to  market  or  generate  revenues  from  the
commercialization  of  any  of  these  products.  We  will  need  to  engage  in
significant,  time-  consuming and costly  research,  development,  pre-clinical
studies,  clinical  testing  and  regulatory  approval  for our  products  under
development  prior to their  commercialization.  In  addition,  pre-clinical  or
clinical studies may show that our products are not effective or safe for one or
more  of   their   intended   uses.   We  may  fail  in  the   development   and
commercialization  of  our  products.   Since  inception,  we  have  incurred  a
cumulative  operating loss of  approximately  $32,000,000 and we expect to incur
significant  increasing losses over the next several years. If we succeed in the
development  of our  products,  we still cannot assure you that we will generate
sufficient or sustainable revenues or that we will be profitable.

The Types of Products We Are  Developing Are Subject to Risks That Are Difficult
to Foresee, and We May Not Succeed In Our Development Efforts.

Our  development of products is subject to the risks of failure  inherent in the
development  of new  pharmaceutical  products  which  utilize  innovative or new
technologies.  During the development  process,  we could experience  unforeseen
problems that could delay us from completing the development of our products. As
a result,  we may terminate  development of these products or  applications.  We
cannot assure you:

        --        that we will succeed in our research and development;

        --        that we will successfully market our proposed products.

If We Cannot Raise  Additional  Capital We Will Need to Discontinue Our Research
and Development  Activities.  In Addition, Any Additional Financing Could Result
in Dilution.

We do not have  enough  working  capital to continue  to meet our  research  and
development  requirements  and  we  may  not  obtain  the  additional  financing
necessary  to meet  these  requirements.  We will  need  substantial  additional
funding to conduct our research and product  development  activities  and, if we
are successful,  to manufacture and market products.  We intend to raise further
funds  through  collaborative  ventures  entered into with  potential  corporate
partners and through additional debt or equity financings.  We may in some cases
elect to develop products on our own instead of entering into collaboration


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arrangements.  This  would  increase  our cash  requirements  for  research  and
development.   We  cannot  provide  assurance  that  we  will  obtain  necessary
financing.  Any additional  financing could include unattractive terms or result
in significant  dilution of  stockholders'  interests.  If we fail to enter into
collaborative  ventures or to receive additional  funding,  we may have to scale
back or discontinue our research and  development  operations.  Furthermore,  we
could  cease to qualify  for listing of our  securities  on the Nasdaq  SmallCap
Market.  See "We Face the  Possibility  of  Delisting  From the Nasdaq  SmallCap
Market."

If We Fail to Obtain Regulatory Approval to Commercially Manufacture or Sell Any
of Our  Products or If the FDA Delays  Approval of Our  Product  Candidates,  it
Could Increase the Cost of Product  Development  or Ultimately  Prevent or Delay
Our Ability to Sell Our Products and Generate Revenues.

In order to sell  our  products  that are  under  development,  we must  receive
regulatory  approvals  for our  products.  The FDA and  comparable  agencies  in
foreign countries extensively and rigorously regulate the testing,  manufacture,
distribution,  advertising,  pricing and marketing of drug products. The FDA and
comparable agencies in other countries require an extensive  regulatory approval
process  before we can market our  product.  This process  includes  preclinical
studies and clinical  trials of each  pharmaceutical  compound to establish  its
safety  and  effectiveness  and  confirmation  by the FDA that the  manufacturer
maintains good laboratory,  clinical and manufacturing  practices during testing
and manufacturing.  The process is lengthy,  expensive and uncertain. It is also
possible that we may not reach  agreement with the FDA on the design of clinical
studies necessary for approval.  In addition,  conditions  imposed by the FDA on
our  clinical  trials  could  significantly   increase  the  time  required  for
completion  of  clinical  trials and the costs of  conducting  clinical  trials.
Clinical trials generally take two to five years or more to complete.

The testing  and  approval  processes  require the  expenditure  of  substantial
resources. The FDA may not give us the requisite approvals for our products on a
timely basis, if ever. The FDA could withdraw any approvals we obtain.  Further,
if there is a later  discovery of unknown  problems or if we fail to comply with
other applicable regulatory requirements at any stage in the regulatory process,
the FDA may restrict or delay our  marketing  of a product,  or force us to make
product  recalls.  In addition,  the FDA could impose  other  sanctions  such as
fines,  injunctions,  civil  penalties or criminal  prosecutions.  For marketing
outside  the  United  States,  we also need to comply  with  foreign  regulatory
requirements   governing  human  clinical  trials  and  marketing  approval  for
pharmaceutical  products.  The FDA and foreign  regulators have not yet approved
any of our products  under  development  for  marketing in the United  States or
elsewhere. If the FDA and other regulators do not approve our products, it could
prevent us from marketing our products.

Our Strategy,  In Many Cases,  Is to Enter into  Collaboration  Agreements  with
Third  Parties  with  Respect  to Our  Products  and We May  Require  Additional
Collaboration Agreements. In Addition, If We Enter into These Agreements and the
Third Parties Do Not Perform,  it Could Impair Our Ability to Commercialize  Our
Products.

Our strategy for the completion of the required development and clinical testing
of our products and for the manufacturing,  marketing and  commercialization  of
our  products,   in  many  cases,   depends  upon  entering  into  collaboration
arrangements with  pharmaceutical  companies.  We have entered into a sublicense
agreement for Surfaxin(R)  covering  southern  Europe and Latin America.  We may
need to enter into additional collaboration  agreements.  Our success may depend
upon obtaining partners.  In addition,  we may depend on our partners' expertise
and dedication of sufficient resources to develop and commercialize our proposed
products. We may in the future grant to collaboration partners rights to license
and




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commercialize  pharmaceutical products developed under collaboration agreements.
Under these  arrangements our  collaboration  partners may control key decisions
relating  to the  development  of the  products.  Those  rights  would limit our
flexibility  in  considering  alternatives  for  the  commercialization  of  our
products.  If we fail to  develop  successfully  these  relationships  or if our
collaboration  partners fail to develop successfully or commercialize any of our
products,  it may delay or prevent us from  developing  or  commercializing  our
products in a competitive and timely manner.

Discoveries or Developments of New Technologies by Our Competitors or Others May
Make Our Products less Competitive or Make Our Products Obsolete.

There are rapidly changing  technologies and evolving industry  standards in the
biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets. We intend to market our products under
development  for the  treatment  of diseases  for which other  technologies  and
proposed treatments are rapidly  developing.  The research efforts of others may
render our research and product  development  efforts  obsolete.  Third  parties
conducting  research include  governments,  major research  facilities and large
multinational corporations.  Many of the third parties have greater research and
development,  manufacturing,  marketing, financial, technological,  personal and
managerial resources than we have.

If We Cannot Protect Our  Intellectual  Property,  Other Companies Could Use Our
Technology in Competitive  Products.  If We Infringe the  Intellectual  Property
Rights of Others,  Other Companies Could Prevent us from Developing or Marketing
Our Products.

We seek patent  protection for our drug  candidates so as to prevent others from
commercializing   equivalent   products  in  substantially   less  time  and  at
substantially  lower expense.  The pharmaceutical  industry places  considerable
importance on obtaining patent and trade secret protection for new technologies,
products and processes.  Our success will depend in part on our ability and that
of parties from whom we license technology to:

        --        defend  our  patents  and   otherwise   prevent   others  from
                  infringing on our proprietary rights;

        --        protect trade secrets; and

        --        operate  without  infringing  upon the  proprietary  rights of
                  others, both in the United States and in other countries.

The patent position of firms relying upon  biotechnology is highly uncertain and
involves complex legal and factual questions.  To date, the United States Patent
and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has not adopted a consistent policy regarding the
breadth of claims that the USPTO allows in  biotechnology  patents or the degree
of protection that these types of patents afford.

Even If We Obtain  Patents to Protect  Our  Products,  Those  Patents May Not Be
Sufficiently Broad and Others Could Compete with Us.

We, or the  parties  licensing  technologies  to us, have filed  various  United
States  and  foreign  patent  applications  with  respect  to the  products  and
technologies under our development and the USPTO and foreign patent offices have
issued  patents  with respect to our  products  and  technologies.  These patent
applications   include   international   applications  filed  under  the  Patent
Cooperation  Treaty. Our pending patent  applications,  those we may file in the
future or those we may license from third parties may not result in the USPTO or
foreign  patent office  issuing  patents.  Also,  if patent rights  covering our
products


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are not sufficiently broad, they may not provide us with proprietary  protection
or  competitive   advantages  against  competitors  with  similar  products  and
technologies.  Furthermore, if the USPTO or foreign patent offices issue patents
to us or our  licensors,  others may  challenge  the patents or  circumvent  the
patents,  or the patent office or the courts may invalidate  the patents.  Thus,
any patents we own or license from third parties may not provide any  protection
against competitors.  In particular,  our issued and pending patents relating to
SuperVent(TM) cover high concentrations of tyloxapol.  These patents could prove
meaningless  if low  concentrations  of  tyloxapol  are as  effective  as higher
concentrations  of tyloxapol in treating the indications which we are developing
our SuperVent(TM) product to treat.

Patents Which Others Obtain Could Limit Our Ability to Market Our Products.

Our  commercial  success  also  significantly  depends on our ability to operate
without  infringing the patents or violating the  proprietary  rights of others.
The  USPTO  keeps  United  States  patent  applications  confidential  while the
applications  are pending.  Accordingly,  we cannot  determine which  inventions
third parties claim in pending patent applications which they have filed. We may
need to engage in litigation to defend or enforce our patent and license  rights
or to determine the scope and validity of the proprietary  rights of others.  It
will be expensive and time consuming to defend and enforce patent claims.  Thus,
even in  those  instances  in  which  the  outcome  is  favorable  to us,  these
proceedings can result in the diversion of substantial  resources from our other
activities.  An adverse determination may subject us to significant  liabilities
or  require  us to seek  licenses  that  third  parties  may not grant to us. An
adverse  determination  could also require us to alter our products or processes
or cease altogether any related  research and development  activities or product
sales.

If We Cannot Meet Requirements under Our License  Agreements,  We Could Lose Our
Rights to Our Products.

We depend on licensing  arrangements  to maintain  rights to our products  under
development.   These  agreements   require  us  to  make  payments  and  satisfy
performance  obligations  in order to maintain our rights under these  licensing
arrangements.  In  addition,  we are  responsible  for the  cost of  filing  and
prosecuting  patent  applications and maintaining issued patents licensed to us.
If we do not meet our  obligations  under  our  license  agreements  in a timely
manner, we could lose the rights to our proprietary technology.

We Rely on Confidentiality Agreements That Our Employees Could Breach.

We require all employees to enter into confidentiality  agreements that prohibit
the  disclosure  of  confidential  information  to  third  parties  and  require
disclosure and assignment to us of rights to our employees' ideas, developments,
discoveries and inventions while we employ them. In addition,  we seek to obtain
these  types  of  agreements  from  our   consultants,   advisors  and  research
collaborators.  To the extent that  consultants,  key  employees  or other third
parties   apply   technological   information   which  they  or  other   parties
independently develop to any of our proposed projects,  disputes may arise as to
the proprietary  rights to this type of  information.  In such case, a court may
determine that the right belongs to a third party. In addition,  we will rely on
trade secrets and  proprietary  know-how that we will seek to protect in part by
confidentiality agreements with our employees,  consultants, advisors or others.
We cannot assure you:

        --        that they will not breach these agreements; or



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         --       that  agreements  we  would  obtain  would  provide   adequate
                  remedies for this type of breach or that our trade  secrets or
                  proprietary  know-how  will  not  otherwise  become  known  or
                  competitors will not independently develop similar technology.

If the Third  Parties  We Depend on for the  Manufacture  of Our  Pharmaceutical
Products Do Not Supply These Products in a Timely Manner, it May Delay or Impair
Our Ability to Develop and Market Our Products.

We rely on outside  manufacturers,  including Taylor  Pharmaceuticals,  Inc., to
produce  appropriate  clinical  grade  material that meets  standards for use in
clinical  studies for our products.  We will also rely on outside  manufacturers
for  production of products  after  marketing  approval.  We may also enter into
arrangements with other manufacturers for the manufacture of material for use in
clinical testing and after marketing approval.

Our outside  manufacturers may not perform as they have agreed or may not remain
in the contract  manufacturing  business for a sufficient  time to  successfully
produce and market our product  candidates.  In this event we may fail to find a
replacement  manufacturer or develop our own manufacturing  capabilities.  If we
cannot do so, it could delay or impair our ability to obtain regulatory approval
for our products.  There could be a substantial delay before the FDA and foreign
regulatory  authorities  qualify and  register a new  facility of a  replacement
manufacturer.

We may in the future elect to manufacture some of our products on our own. We do
not  currently  have  a  manufacturing  facility,  manufacturing  experience  or
manufacturing  personnel. If we determine to manufacture products on our own and
do not successfully develop manufacturing capabilities, it will adversely affect
sales of our products.

In addition, the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities require manufacturers to
register manufacturing facilities.  The FDA and corresponding foreign regulators
inspect these facilities to confirm compliance with good manufacturing  practice
requirements that the FDA or corresponding foreign regulators establish.  If our
third-party  foreign or domestic suppliers or manufacturers of our products fail
to comply with good manufacturing  practice requirements or other FDA regulatory
requirements, it could adversely affect our ability to market our products.

We Do Not Have Marketing and Sales  Experience,  and Our Lack of That Experience
Could Limit Our Ability to Generate Revenues from Future Product Sales.

We do not have marketing and sales  experience or marketing or sales  personnel.
If we do not  develop  a  marketing  and  sales  force,  then we will  depend on
arrangements  with  corporate  partners or other  entities for the marketing and
sale of our  products.  We may not  succeed in  entering  into any  satisfactory
third-  party  arrangements  for the  marketing  and  sale of our  products.  In
addition,  we may not succeed in developing  marketing and sales capabilities or
we may not have sufficient resources to do so. If we fail to establish marketing
and sales capabilities or fail to enter into arrangements with third parties, it
will adversely affect sales of our products.

We Depend upon Key Employees and Consultants in a Competitive Market for Skilled
Personnel.  If We Are  Unable to  Attract  and  Retain  Key  Personal,  it Could
Adversely Effect Our Ability to Develop and Market Our Products.



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We are highly  dependent  upon the  principal  members of our  management  team,
especially Dr. Capetola,  and our directors,  as well as our scientific advisory
board members,  consultants and collaborating  scientists. We have an employment
agreement  with Dr.  Capetola  which  expires  on June 15,  2002.  We also  have
employment  agreements with other key personnel with termination  dates in 2001.
We do not maintain  key-man life  insurance.  The loss of any of these  persons'
services would  adversely  affect our ability to develop and market our products
and obtain necessary regulatory approvals.

Our future success also will depend in part on the continued  service of our key
scientific and management personnel and our ability to identify, hire and retain
additional personnel, including marketing and sales staff. We experience intense
competition for qualified personnel.

While we attempt to provide  competitive  compensation  packages  to attract and
retain  key  personnel,  some of our  competitors  are  likely  to have  greater
resources  and more  experience  than we have,  making  it  difficult  for us to
compete for key personnel.

Our Industry is Highly  Competitive  and We Have less Capital and Resources than
Many of Our  Competitors,  and This May Give Them an Advantage in Developing and
Marketing Products Similar to Ours.

Our industry is highly competitive.  We compete with numerous existing companies
intensely  in many ways.  We expect new  companies  to enter our industry and we
expect  competition  to increase.  Many of these  companies  have  substantially
greater research and development, marketing, financial, technological, personnel
and managerial  resources than we have. In addition,  many of these competitors,
either alone or with their collaborative  partners,  have significantly  greater
experience than we do in:

        --  developing products;

        --  undertaking preclinical testing and human clinical trials;

        --  obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals or products; and

        --  manufacturing and marketing products.

Accordingly,  our  competitors  may  succeed  in  obtaining  patent  protection,
receiving  FDA approval or  commercializing  products  before us. If we commence
commercial  product  sales,  we will  compete  against  companies  with  greater
marketing and manufacturing  capabilities.  These are areas in which, as yet, we
have limited or no experience.  In addition,  developments  by  competitors  may
render our product  candidates  obsolete or  uncompetitive.  Our competitors may
succeed in developing and marketing products that are more effective than ours.

We  also  face,   and  will  continue  to  face,   competition   from  colleges,
universities,  governmental  agencies  and other  public  and  private  research
organizations.  These  competitors  are becoming  more active in seeking  patent
protection and licensing arrangements to collect royalties for use of technology
that they have developed.  Some of these  technologies may compete directly with
the technologies  that we are developing.  These  institutions will also compete
with us in recruiting  highly  qualified  scientific  personnel.  We expect that
therapeutic  developments  in the  areas in which we are  active  may occur at a
rapid rate and that  competition  will  intensify  as advances in this field are
made.  Accordingly,  we need to continue  to devote  substantial  resources  and
efforts to research and development activities.



                                        8

<PAGE>



If Product  Liability  Claims Are  Brought  Against Us, it May Result in Reduced
Demand for Our Products or Damages That Exceed Our Insurance Coverage.

The marketing and use of our products exposes us to product  liability claims in
the event that the use or misuse of those  products  causes  injury,  disease or
results in adverse effects.  Use of our products in clinical trials,  as well as
commercial sale, could result in product liability claims. In addition, sales of
our products through third party  arrangements  could also subject us to product
liability claims. We presently carry product liability insurance relating to our
clinical  trials of  Surfaxin(R)  and  SuperVent(TM).  However,  this  insurance
coverage  might not  fully  cover any  potential  claims.  We may need to obtain
additional  product  liability  insurance  coverage prior to initiation of other
clinical trials. We expect to obtain product liability insurance coverage before
commercialization of our proposed products; however, this insurance is expensive
and insurance companies may not issue this type of insurance when we need it. We
cannot provide assurance that we can obtain adequate  insurance in the future at
an acceptable cost. Any product liability claim, even one that was not in excess
of our insurance  coverage or one that is meritless,  could adversely affect our
cash  available  for  other  purposes,  such as  research  and  development.  In
addition,  the  existence of a product  liability  claim could affect the market
price of our common stock.

Healthcare  Reform  Measures and  Reimbursement  Procedures  May Prevent Us from
Obtaining an Adequate Level of Reimbursement for Our Products That in Turn Would
Decrease Our Ability to Generate Revenues.

Efforts of governmental and third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of
health  care  through  various  means could  affect the levels of  revenues  and
profitability of pharmaceutical  and biotechnology  products and companies.  For
example,  in some foreign  markets,  pricing or  profitability  of  prescription
pharmaceuticals is subject to government  control.  In the United States,  there
have  been a  number  of  federal  and  state  proposals  to  implement  similar
government control.  Pricing constraints on our products could negatively impact
our revenues and profitability.

In the United States and elsewhere, successful commercialization of our products
will depend in part on the  availability of  reimbursement to the consumer using
our products from third-party  health care payors such as government and private
insurance plans.  Third-party payors may not provide sufficient reimbursement to
enable us to maintain price levels  sufficient to realize an appropriate  return
on our  investment in product  development.  Third-party  health care payers are
increasingly  challenging  the price and  examining  the  cost-effectiveness  of
medical products and services. If we succeed in bringing one or more products to
market,  and the  government  or  third-party  payors  fail to provide  adequate
coverage or reimbursement rates for those products,  it could reduce our product
sales and product revenues.

Directors,  Executive Officers,  Principal  Stockholders and Affiliated Entities
Own a Significant Percentage of Our Capital Stock, and this Could Have an Effect
on Actions by the Stockholders.

As of March 29, 2000, our directors,  executive officers, principal stockholders
and affiliated entities beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 32% of
our outstanding  voting  securities.  Accordingly,  these  stockholders have the
ability  to exert  substantial  influence  over  the  election  of our  Board of
Directors and the outcome of issues requiring approval by our stockholders. This
concentration  of  ownership  may have the effect of  delaying or  preventing  a
change in control.  This could prevent  transactions in which stockholders might
otherwise recover a premium for their shares over current market prices.

We Face the Possibility  that Nasdaq May Delist our Common Stock from the NASDAQ
Smallcap Market.


                                        9

<PAGE>



To meet the  current  listing  requirements  for Nasdaq to  continue to list our
securities on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, we will have to maintain:

                  (a)      (1) at least $2 million in net tangible assets or

                           (2) $35 million in market capitalization or

                           (3) $500,000  in net  income  (over  two of the  last
                               three years),and

                  (b) a public  float of at least  500,000  shares  valued at $1
                      million or more and

                  (c) a minimum bid price of $1 and

                  (d) at least 300 holders of our common stock and

                  (e) at least two active market makers.

At December 31, 1999, we had $3,108,000 in net tangible  assets and at March 31,
2000 we had $22,964,000 in net tangible assets.  The closing price of our common
stock during the period from January 1, 1999 to April 19, 2000 ranged from $1.00
to $12.63 and the closing price of our common stock on April 19, 2000 was $5.34.
We may need to raise additional capital in order to continue to meet the listing
requirements.

If we are  unable to satisfy  the  listing  requirements,  Nasdaq may delist our
securities  from the Nasdaq  SmallCap  Market.  If any  trading  markets for our
securities are  available,  investors  could only trade in the  over-the-counter
market in the Pink  Sheets(R)  (a  quotation  medium  operated  by the  National
Quotation Bureau,  LLC), or on the NASD's OTC Bulletin  Board(R).  Consequently,
this would impair the liquidity of our securities.  This could reduce the number
of our securities investors could buy and sell and could result in delays in the
timing of the  transactions,  reduction  in  securities  analysts'  and the news
media's coverage of us and lower prices for our securities.

The "Penny Stock" Rules May Adversely Affect the Liquidity of Our Common Stock.

If Nasdaq delisted our securities from the Nasdaq  SmallCap  Market,  Rule 15g-9
under the Exchange Act would apply. Rule 15g-9 imposes additional sales practice
requirements  on  broker-dealers  that sell these types of securities to persons
other  than  established  customers  and  "accredited   investors"   (generally,
individuals  with net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual incomes  exceeding
$200,000,  or $300,000 together with their spouses).  For transactions that this
rule covers, a broker-dealer must make a special  suitability  determination for
the purchaser and receive the  purchaser's  written  consent to the  transaction
prior to sale.  Consequently,  the rule may  adversely  affect  the  ability  of
broker-dealers  to sell our securities  and may adversely  affect the ability of
stockholders to sell any of our securities in the secondary market.







                                       10

<PAGE>



The Commission has adopted regulations that define a "penny stock". Generally, a
penny stock is an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per
share. For any transaction involving a penny stock that is not exempt, the rules
require that a broker-dealer  deliver a disclosure  schedule that the Commission
has  prepared  relating to the penny stock  market.  The rule also  requires the
broker-dealer  to disclose  information  about  commissions  payable to both the
broker-dealer and the registered  representative  and current quotations for the
securities.   Finally,  rules  require  that  the  broker-dealers  send  monthly
statements  disclosing  recent price information for the penny stock held in the
account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

These  restrictions  will not apply to our  securities  if the  Nasdaq  SmallCap
Market  continues to list our  securities.  If Nasdaq delists our securities and
they become subject to the existing or proposed rules on penny stocks,  it could
severely adversely affect the market liquidity for our securities.

A  Substantial  Number of Our  Securities  Are Eligible for Future Sale and this
Could Affect the Market Price for Our Stock and Our Ability to Raise Capital.

The market  price of our common  stock could drop due to sales of a large number
of shares of our common stock or the perception that these sales could occur. As
of April 19, 2000, there were  approximately  20,707,804  shares of common stock
currently outstanding.  In addition, as of April 19, 2000 up to 6,412,794 shares
of Common Stock were issuable on exercise of outstanding options and warrants.

Holders of our stock options and warrants are likely to exercise  them, if ever,
at a time when we otherwise  could obtain a price for the sale of our securities
that is higher than the exercise  price per security of the options or warrants.
This  exercise or the  possibility  of this  exercise  may impede our efforts to
obtain additional  financing  through the sale of additional  securities or make
this financing more costly.

We cannot predict the effect that the availability of these shares for sale will
have on the market price of our common stock. Nevertheless,  because holders may
sell  substantial  amounts of our common stock in the public market,  the market
price of our common stock could drop as a result of sales of these securities or
the  perception  that these types of sales may occur.  These  factors could also
make it more  difficult  for us to  raise  funds  through  future  offerings  of
securities.

Anti-takeover  Provisions of Our Certificate of  Incorporation  and Delaware Law
Could  Delay  Actual  or  Potential  Changes  of  Control,  Which  Could  Affect
Stockholder   Ability  to  Benefit  From  Market  Fluctuations  and  Changes  in
Management.

Our Certificate of Incorporation  and Delaware law contain  provisions which may
discourage  transactions  involving actual or potential changes in control.  Our
Certificate  of  Incorporation  allows  us to issue  shares of  preferred  stock
without any vote or further action by our  shareholders.  Our Board of Directors
has the authority to fix and determine the relative  rights and  preferences  of
preferred  shares.  Our Board of Directors also has the authority to issue these
shares without further stockholder approval. As a result, our Board of Directors
could  authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that would grant to
holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive
dividend  payments  before  dividends  on  common  stock  and the  right  to the
redemption of these shares,  together with a premium, prior to the redemption of
our  common  stock.  In  addition,  our  Board  of  Directors,  without  further
stockholder  approval,  could  issue  large  blocks of  preferred  stock to fend
against unwanted tender offers or hostile takeovers.



                                       11

<PAGE>



We are also subject to  provisions of Delaware law that could delay or make more
difficult a merger,  tender offer or proxy contest  involving us. In particular,
we are  subject to Section  203 of the  Delaware  General  Corporation  Law that
prohibits a Delaware  corporation from engaging in any business combination with
any  interested  stockholder  for a period of three  years  unless  the Board of
Directors and stockholders  approve the transactions in a prescribed  manner. In
general,  Section 203 defines an interested  stockholder as any entity or person
beneficially  owning  15%  or  more  of  the  outstanding  voting  stock  of the
corporation  and  any  entity  or  person  affiliated  with  or  controlling  or
controlled by this type of entity or person.  The possible issuance of preferred
stock and the  provisions of Delaware law could have the effect of  discouraging
others from making tender offers for our securities. As a consequence, they also
may inhibit  fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that otherwise
could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Those provisions also may
have the effect of preventing changes in our management.


                           FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The statements set forth under the captions  "Company  Summary" and elsewhere in
this  prospectus,   including  in  "Risk  Factors,"  which  are  not  historical
constitute "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities  Act and  Section  21E of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of 1934,  as
amended, including statements regarding the expectations, beliefs, intentions or
strategies  for the future.  We intend that all  forward-looking  statements  be
subject to the  safe-harbor  provisions  of the  Private  Securities  Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect our views as of the
date they are made with respect to future events and financial performance,  but
are  subject  to many  risks and  uncertainties,  which  could  cause our actual
results to differ  materially  from any future  results  expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements.

Examples of such risks and  uncertainties  include,  but are not limited to, the
inherent  risks and  uncertainties  in  developing  products  of the type we are
developing;  possible  changes in our financial  condition;  the progress of our
research and  development  (including the risk that our lead product  candidate,
Surfaxin(R),  will not prove to be safe or useful for the  treatment  of certain
indications);   the  impact  of  development  of  competing   therapies   and/or
technologies  by other  companies;  our  ability to obtain  additional  required
financing to fund our research  programs;  our ability to enter into  agreements
with  collaborators  and the  failure of  collaborators  to perform  under their
agreements  with us; the  results of  clinical  trials  being  conducted  by the
Company; the progress of the FDA approvals in connection with the conduct of our
clinical  trials and the  marketing of our  products;  the  additional  cost and
delays  which may result from  requirements  imposed by FDA in  connection  with
obtaining the required approvals;  and the other risks and certainties  detailed
in "Risk  Factors",  and in the  documents  incorporated  by  reference  in this
prospectus.

We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

                             ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

         The  Company  and the  Placement  Agent  will  make  available  to each
prospective  investor  and his or her  representative  during  the course of the
Offering, upon request by the prospective investor or his or her representative,
copies of the Exhibits  hereto not included  herewith,  the  opportunity  to ask
questions  and  receive  answers  concerning  the  terms and  conditions  of the
Offering, and to obtain any additional information.



                                       12

<PAGE>



                                 USE OF PROCEEDS

         We will not receive any proceeds  from the sales of common stock by the
selling stockholders pursuant to this prospectus.

                              SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

         The following table sets forth  information  with respect to the amount
of  common  stock  held  by  each  selling  stockholder  as of the  date of this
prospectus and the shares being offered by the selling  stockholders.  The table
indicates the nature of any position, office or other material relationship that
the  selling  stockholder  has had within the past  three  years with  Discovery
Laboratories or any of its predecessors or affiliates.  This prospectus  relates
to the offer and sale of the selling  stockholders of up to 2,917,784  shares of
common  stock,  including  928,910  shares of  common  stock  issuable  upon the
exercise of outstanding warrants issued by Discovery  Laboratories.  The selling
stockholders may offer all or part of the shares of common stock covered by this
prospectus.  Information  with  respect to shares owned  beneficially  after the
offering assumes the sale of all of the shares offered and no other purchases or
sales of common  stock.  The  common  stock  offered by this  prospectus  may be
offered from time to time by the selling stockholders named below.







                                       13

<PAGE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                 Number of
                                 Shares of                       Total
                                   Common         Number        Number of                     Number of
                                 Stock, not      of Shares      Shares of      Percentage    Shares to be    Number of  Percentage
                                 including      Represented      Common       Beneficially   Offered for     Shares to  Beneficially
                                 Warrants,      by Warrants       Stock          Owned       the Account     be Owned      Owned
                                Beneficially    Beneficially   Beneficially      before     of the Selling   after this  after this
             Name                  Owned          Owned           Owned    +    Offering      Stockholder     Offering    Offering
             ----              -------------    ------------   ------------   ------------  --------------   ---------- ------------
<S>                                    <C>              <C>          <C>                 <C>     <C>         <C>               <C>
Leonard Adams                          15,385           3,077        18,462              *        18,462         0             0
Louis J. Adler                          3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Burton Joel Ahrens                      3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Balanced Investment LLC                76,923          15,385        92,308              *        92,308         0             0
Banque SCS Alliance SA                 76,923          15,385        92,308              *        92,308         0             0
Beck Family Partners LP                38,462           7,692        46,154              *        46,154         0             0
Nancy Beres                             1,538             308         1,846              *         1,846         0             0
David J. Bershad                       30,769           6,154        36,923              *        36,923         0             0
Elliott Broidy                         23,077           4,615        27,692              *        27,692         0             0
Richard Buonocore                       3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Mark J. Butler                          3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Andrew and Barbara Cichelli             7,692           1,538         9,230              *         9,230         0             0
Roger and Margaret Coleman              3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Concordia Partners LP                  76,923          15,385        92,308              *        92,308         0             0
Robert J. Conrads                       7,692           1,538         9,230              *         9,230         0             0
Archibald Cox, Jr.                     38,462           7,692        46,154              *        46,154         0             0
Credito Privato Commerciale SA        153,846          30,769       184,615              *       184,615         0             0
Deephaven Private Placement            23,077           4,615        27,692              *        27,692         0             0
Trading Ltd.
Elke R. DeRamirez                       7,692           1,538         9,230              *         9,230         0             0
Donner Corp. International              5,000               0         5,000              *         5,000         0             0
DG Lux Lacuna Apo Biotech Fund        123,077          24,615       147,692              *       147,692         0             0
John Joseph Dougherty                   3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Drax Holdings, LP                     153,846          30,769       184,615              *       184,615         0             0
Marc Florin                            32,724           4,615        37,339              *        27,692     9,647             *
Albert Fried, Jr.                     230,769          46,154       276,923              1.33%   276,923         0             0
Wendy Grabler                          15,385           3,077        18,462              *        18,462         0             0
Greenlight Capital LP                  55,800          11,160        66,960              *        66,960         0             0
Greenlight Capital Offshore Ltd.       86,615          17,323       103,938              *       103,938         0             0
Greenlight Capital Qualified LP        88,354          17,671       106,025              *       106,025         0             0
Jack Hirschfield                        1,923             385         2,308              *         2,308         0             0
Theresa Marie Incagnoli                 1,538             308         1,846              *         1,846         0             0
JAS Oil & Gas Partnership Ltd.          7,692           1,538         9,230              *         9,230         0             0
J.F. Shea & Co., Inc., as Nominee      76,923          15,385        92,308              *        92,308         0             0
2000-48
Keys Foundation                       242,212          15,385       257,597              1.24%    92,308   165,289             *
Ira Lawrence Kotel1                     3,959             769         4,728              *         4,615       113             *
Leiden Overseas Ltd.                    3,846             769         4,615              *         4,615         0             0
Kenneth Lerer                           3,105               0         3,105              *         3,105         0             0

</TABLE>

--------

1    The shares owned by Ira Kotel exclude  shares owned by Roberts,  Sheridan &
     Kotel,  PC,  in which he is a  partner  and the  shares  owned by  Roberts,
     Sheridan & Kotel, PC do not include shares  beneficially owned by Ira Kotel
     or other partners of Roberts, Sheridan & Kotel, PC.




                                       14

<PAGE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                 Number of
                                 Shares of                       Total
                                   Common         Number        Number of                     Number of
                                 Stock, not      of Shares      Shares of      Percentage    Shares to be    Number of  Percentage
                                 including      Represented      Common       Beneficially   Offered for     Shares to  Beneficially
                                 Warrants,      by Warrants       Stock          Owned       the Account     be Owned      Owned
                                Beneficially    Beneficially   Beneficially      before     of the Selling   after this  after this
             Name                  Owned          Owned           Owned    +    Offering      Stockholder     Offering    Offering
             ----              -------------    ------------   ------------   ------------  --------------   ---------- ------------
<S>                                 <C>              <C>         <C>               <C>          <C>         <C>             <C>
Michael H. Schwartz Profit             15,385          3,077        18,462          *            18,462             0         0
Sharing Plan
Maria Molinsky                         15,385          3,077        18,462          *            18,462             0         0
Walter Montgomery                         690              0           690          *               690             0         0
Cecilia and Raul Obregon               12,684          1,538        14,222          *             9,230         4,992         *
Omicron Partners, LP                   53,846         10,769        64,615          *            64,615             0         0
Lindsay Rosenwald2                  2,784,975        703,134     3,488,109         16.29%       348,341     3,139,768       14.91%
PIMCO Opportunity Fund                461,538         92,308       553,846          2.68%       553,846             0         0
Richard Pollak                          7,692          1,538         9,230          *             9,230             0         0
Alexander Pomper                        7,692          1,538         9,230          *             9,230             0         0
Richard G. Power                        3,077            615         3,692          *             3,692             0         0
Dr. Tis Prager                         49,014          1,538        50,552          *             9,230        41,322         *
Royal Bank of Canada                  153,846         30,769       184,615          *           184,615             0         0
Linda Gosden Robinson                   3,105              0         3,105          *             3,105             0         0
Rahn & Bodmer                         153,846         30,769       184,615          *           184,615             0         0
Roberts, Sheridan & Kotel, PC3          3,840              0         3,840          *             3,840             0         0
David W. Ruttenberg                     7,692          1,538         9,230          *             9,230             0         0
Wayne Saker                            16,666          2,462        19,128          *            14,770         4,358         *
Scoggin Capital Management, LP         76,923         15,385        92,308          *            92,308             0         0
Lori Shapero                           11,538          2,308        13,846          *            13,846             0         0
John R. Siebel4                         2,308            462         3,270          *             2,770           500         *
Simon Family Trust, Ronald I.           3,846            769         4,615          *             4,615             0         0
Simon & Anne F. Simmon,
Trustees, dated 1/21/83
Southshore Capital Fund Ltd.           76,923         15,385        92,308          *            92,308             0         0
St John's Trust                        76,923         15,385        92,308          *            92,308             0         0
Stern Joint Venture LP                 76,923         15,385        92,308          *            92,308             0         0
Myron M. Teitelbaum M.D.                3,846            769         4,615          *             4,615             0         0
Douglas & Laurie Moore TTees           20,000          3,077        23,077          *            18,462         4,615         *
FBO the '89 Moore Family Trust,
dtd 3/9/89
The Lincoln Fund Tax Advantaged        11,538          2,308        13,846          *            13,846             0         0
LP

</TABLE>

--------

2    Includes  shares  beneficially  owned by RAQ, LLC and Aries  Domestic Fund,
     L.P. ("Aries Domestic") and The Aries Master Fund, a Cayman Island Exempted
     Corporation  ("Aries  Fund" and,  together with Aries  Domestic,  "Aries").
     Lindsay Rosenwald is Chairman,  President and sole stockholder of Paramount
     Capital,  Inc.  ("Paramount  Capital").  Dr.  Rosenwald  is also  Chairman,
     President and sole stockholder of Paramount Capital Asset Management,  Inc.
     ("PCAM").  PCAM is the general partner of Aries Domestic and the investment
     manager of Aries Fund. As a consequence of these relationships, each of Dr.
     Rosenwald  and PCAM may be  deemed  to share  beneficial  ownership  of the
     Common  Stock  beneficially  owned  by  Aries.  Dr.  Rosenwald  is also the
     Managing  Member  of RAQ,  LLC  and,  accordingly,  may be  deemed  to have
     beneficial  ownership of the Common Stock  beneficially  owned by RAQ, LLC.
     The placement  agent warrants  pursuant to which the shares of Common Stock
     registered  hereby may be transferred to employees of Paramount Capital and
     placement agent warrants  granted in connection with prior  placements have
     been transferred to employees of Paramount Capital. Dr. Rosenwald disclaims
     beneficial  ownership of any securities  issuable upon exercise of warrants
     held by employees of  Paramount  Capital.

3    See Footnote 1.

4    Includes 500 shares beneficially owned by John Siebel IRA.


                                       15

<PAGE>



<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                 Number of
                                 Shares of                       Total
                                   Common         Number        Number of                     Number of
                                 Stock, not      of Shares      Shares of      Percentage    Shares to be    Number of  Percentage
                                 including      Represented      Common       Beneficially   Offered for     Shares to  Beneficially
                                 Warrants,      by Warrants       Stock          Owned       the Account     be Owned      Owned
                                Beneficially    Beneficially   Beneficially      before     of the Selling   after this  after this
             Name                  Owned          Owned           Owned    +    Offering      Stockholder     Offering    Offering
             ----              -------------    ------------   ------------   ------------  --------------   ---------- ------------
<S>                                  <C>              <C>          <C>               <C>         <C>          <C>          <C>
The Lincoln Fund, LP                  23,077           4,615        27,692           *           27,692             0        0
The Rapier Group, GP                   4,769             954         5,723           *            5,723             0        0
Sean C. Twomey                         2,308             462         2,770           *            2,770             0        0
Melvyn I. Weiss                       30,769           6,154        36,923           *           36,923             0        0
Robert J. Whetten                     15,430           2,308        17,738           *           13,846         3,892        *
Windward Venture Partners, Inc.      198,009          59,980       257,989           1.25%       18,462       239,527      1.16%
Yi Tuan & Brunstein                   10,504               0        10,504           *            3,036         7,468        *

</TABLE>

---------------
*        Less than 1%.

+        The information contained in this table reflects "beneficial" ownership
         of common  stock  within the meaning of Rule 13d-3  under the  Exchange
         Act. On April 19, 2000, Discovery Laboratories had 20,707,804 shares of
         common stock outstanding. Beneficial ownership information reflected in
         the table  includes  shares  issuable upon the exercise of  outstanding
         warrants issued by Discovery Laboratories.







                                       16

<PAGE>



                              PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

         The shares of common stock covered by this  prospectus are owned by the
selling stockholders. As used in the rest of this section of the prospectus, the
term "selling  stockholders"  includes the named selling stockholders and any of
their  pledgees,  donees,  transferees or other  successors in interest  selling
shares  received  from a  named  selling  stockholder  after  the  date  of this
prospectus. The selling stockholders may offer and sell, from time to time, some
or all of the  shares.  We have  registered  the shares for sale by the  selling
stockholders so that the shares will be freely  tradeable by them.  Registration
of the  shares  does not mean,  however,  that the  shares  necessarily  will be
offered or sold.  We will not receive any proceeds  from any offering or sale by
the selling stockholders of the shares. We will pay all costs, expenses and fees
in connection with the registration of the shares. The selling stockholders will
pay all brokerage commissions and similar selling expenses, if any, attributable
to the sale of the shares.

         The  selling  stockholders  will  act  independently  of us  in  making
decisions  with respect to the timing,  manner and size of each sale. The shares
may be sold by or for the account of the selling  stockholders from time to time
in transactions on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, the  over-the-counter  market, or
otherwise.  These sales may be at fixed prices or prices that may be changed, at
market  prices  prevailing  at the  time of sale,  at  prices  related  to these
prevailing  market  prices or at  negotiated  prices.  The shares may be sold by
means of one or more of the following methods:

      --     in a block trade in which a  broker-dealer  will  attempt to sell a
             block of shares as agent but may  position  and resell a portion of
             the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;

     --      purchases  by a  broker-dealer  as  principal  and  resale  by that
             broker-dealer for its account pursuant to this prospectus;

     --      on  markets  where our  common  stock is  traded or in an  exchange
             distribution in accordance with the rules of the exchange;

     --      through broker-dealers, that may act as agents or principals;

     --      directly to one or more purchasers;

     --      through agents;

     --      in connection with the loan or pledge of shares to a broker-dealer,
             and the sale of the  Shares so loaned or the sale of the  Shares so
             pledged upon a default;

     --      in  connection  with  put or call  option  transactions,  in  hedge
             transactions,   and  in   settlement  of  other   transactions   in
             standardized or over-the-counter options;

     --      through  short sales of the Shares by the selling  stockholders  or
             counterparties  to  those  transactions,  in  privately  negotiated
             transactions; or

      --     in any  combination  of the above.  In addition,  any of the shares
             that qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act
             may be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.

      In effecting sales, brokers or dealers engaged by the selling stockholders
may  arrange  for other  brokers or dealers to  participate.  The  broker-dealer
transactions may include:

     --      purchases of the shares by a broker-dealer as principal and resales
             of the shares by the broker-dealer for its account pursuant to this
             prospectus;

     --      ordinary brokerage transactions; or

     --      transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers.


                                       17

<PAGE>




      If a material arrangement with any broker-dealer or other agent is entered
into  for the  sale of any  Shares  through  a block  trade,  special  offering,
exchange  distribution,  secondary  distribution,  or a purchase  by a broker or
dealer,  a prospectus  supplement will be filed, if necessary,  pursuant to Rule
424(b) under the  Securities Act disclosing the material terms and conditions of
these arrangement.

      The selling stockholders and any broker-dealers or agents participating in
the  distribution  of the shares may be deemed to be  "underwriters"  within the
meaning of the  Securities  Act, and any profit on the sale of the Shares by the
selling  stockholders and any commissions received by a broker-dealer or agents,
acting in this capacity, may be deemed to be underwriting  commissions under the
Securities  Act. The selling  stockholders  may agree to indemnify  any agent or
broker-dealer  that  participates in transactions  involving sales of the Shares
against certain liabilities,  including liabilities arising under the Securities
Act.

      The selling  stockholders  are not restricted as to the price or prices at
which  they may sell  their  shares.  Sales of such  shares  may have an adverse
effect  on  the  market  price  of  the  common  stock.  Moreover,  the  selling
stockholders  are not  restricted as to the number of shares that may be sold at
any time,  and it is possible that a significant  number of shares could be sold
at the same time,  which may have an adverse  effect on the market  price of the
common stock.


                       WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

      We file annual,  quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other
information with the Securities and Exchange  Commission.  You may read and copy
any  document  we  file  at the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission's  public
reference rooms at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549, 7 World Trade
Center,  13th Floor,  New York, New York 10048,  and Citicorp  Center,  500 West
Madison  Street,  Suite 1400,  Chicago,  Illinois  60661- 2511.  Please call the
Securities and Exchange  Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on
the public reference rooms. Our Securities and Exchange  Commission  filings are
also  available  to the public from the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission's
Website at "http://www.sec.gov."

      We have filed with the Securities  and Exchange  Commission a registration
statement  (which contains this prospectus) on Form S-3 under the Securities Act
of 1933. The registration  statement  relates to the common stock offered by the
selling  stockholders.  This  prospectus does not contain all of the information
set forth in the  registration  statement  and the exhibits and schedules to the
registration  statement.  Please  refer to the  registration  statement  and its
exhibits and schedules for further information with respect to us and the common
stock.  Statements  contained  in  this  prospectus  as to the  contents  of any
contract or other document are not  necessarily  complete and, in each instance,
we refer you to the copy of that contract or document filed as an exhibit to the
registration  statement.  You may  read and  obtain  a copy of the  registration
statement and its exhibits and schedules  from the  Commission,  as described in
the preceding paragraph.


                      INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

      The  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  allows us to  "incorporate  by
reference" the  information we file with them,  which means that we can disclose
important  information  to  you  by  referring  you  to  those  documents.   The
information  incorporated  by  reference  is  considered  to  be  part  of  this
prospectus,  and information that we file later with the Securities and Exchange
Commission  will  automatically  update  and  supersede  this  information.   We
incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any filings we make with
the Securities and Exchange  Commission  after the date of this prospectus under
Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

      1.  Our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1999;

      2.  Our  Quarterly  Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter  ended March 31,
          2000;




                                       18

<PAGE>





      3.  Our Current  Report on Form 8-K filed on  February  8, 2000,  March 7,
          2000, March 20, 2000 and March 29, 2000; and

      4.  The  description  of our capital  stock  contained  in our Form 8-A as
          filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 13, 1995.

      You may  request  a copy of these  filings,  at no  cost,  by  writing  or
telephoning us at the following address: Discovery Laboratories, Inc., 305 South
Main Street,  Suite 307,  Doylestown,  Pennsylvania  18901,  Attention:  Cynthia
Davis.  Telephone  requests may be directed to (215)  340-4699,  extension  112.
Exhibits  to the  documents  will  not  be  sent,  unless  those  exhibits  have
specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

      This  prospectus  is part of a  registration  statement  we filed with the
Securities  and  Exchange  Commission.  You should rely only on the  information
contained  in this  prospectus.  We have  authorized  no one to provide you with
different  information.  We are not making an offer of these  securities  in any
state  where  the  offer  is not  permitted.  You  should  not  assume  that the
information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on
the front of the document.

                                     EXPERTS

      The consolidated financial statements of Discovery Laboratories,  Inc. and
subsidiary  (the "Company") as of December 31, 1999 and for each of the years in
the  two-year  period  ended  December 31, 1999 and the period from May 18, 1993
(inception) through December 31, 1999 included in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-KSB,  incorporated by reference in this registration statement, and have
been  incorporated  herein in  reliance  on the report of  Richard  A.  Eisner &
Company,  LLP,  independent  auditors,  as  stated  in their  reports  appearing
therein.  These  financial  statements  have been  given on their  authority  as
experts in accounting and auditing.

                                  LEGAL MATTERS

      The validity of the shares of common stock offered  hereby has been passed
upon for us by Battle Fowler LLP, New York, New York.







                                       19

<PAGE>


We have not  authorized  anyone to provide you with  information or to represent
anything not contained in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized
information or representations.  The selling  stockholders are offering to sell,
and seeking  offers to buy,  only the shares of  Discovery  Laboratories  common
stock  covered  by  this  prospectus,   and  only  under  circumstances  and  in
jurisdictions  where it is lawful to do so. The  information  contained  in this
prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of the time of delivery of
this prospectus or of any sale of the shares.


                                3,850,534 SHARES




                          DISCOVERY LABORATORIES, INC.


                                  COMMON STOCK


                                  June 2, 2000







                                       20



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