Techniclone Will Market Cancer Diagnosis Product

Techniclone International Corp., a Santa Ana bio-engineering company, said it has agreed to a marketing deal in which Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals will distribute Histoclone, a chemical product used to diagnose cancer. Techniclone officials would not disclose the monetary value of the agreement.

Techniclone also announced a shareholder-approved 1-for-100 reverse stock split as part of a secondary financing for the company.

The firm’s outstanding stock, now selling for 3.5 to 4 cents a share, will be reduced from 58.3 million shares to 5.83 million shares “as soon as possible,” Lon Stone, Techniclone’s chief executive officer, said.

The company also will shrink its authorized common stock from 900 million shares to 20 million shares while 100,000 shares of a new class of preferred stock has been created “almost exclusively for acquisition or merger” financing, Stone said.

Additionally, Techniclone said it will institute an incentive stock-option plan for employees.