Techniclone International Corp., a Santa Ana bio-engineering...

Techniclone International Corp., a Santa Ana bio-engineering company, said Tuesday it has signed a letter of intent with American Cyanamid Co. to sell 4% of its stock to the Wayne, N.J., conglomerate, which will, in turn, pump money into Techniclone’s research and development subsidiary, Cancer Biologics Inc.

The tentative agreement also would allow American Cyanamid to obtain rights related to the development and commercialization of Techniclone’s antibody-based diagnostic and therapeutic products, particularly protein molecules used to fight tumors.

Lon Stone, Techniclone chairman, said his company would be working with Cyanamid’s Lederle Laboratories Division, a pharmaceutical operation. He said he could not release further details of the letter of intent until a final agreement is reached.