Hamilton Capital Ltd. played a major role in what is believed to be the largest private financing of a biotechnology company.

Formerly Mercury Capital Ltd., Hamilton Capital acted as financial advisor placing $62.8 million in financing for Tularik Inc., a privately-held South San Francisco therapeutics company.

"The success of this financing is a milestone in establishing Hamilton Capital as a Bermuda-based corporate finance boutique,'' Hamilton Capital director Gregory Tolaram said.

Hamilton Capital, with offices in Mercury House on Front Street, focuses on corporate/finance advice, venture capital and acquisitions, primarily in health care, environmental, telecommunications and financial services.

Hamilton Capital's president is Peter Svennilson. Alasdair Barclay is also a director.

"The Bermuda market is well serviced by high quality players in the traditional banking and insurance sectors, with law firms and others providing the ancillary support,'' said Mr. Tolaram.

"However, what we have been able to do is attract top investment banking professionals in the industry from Europe and America, with a substantial client base, which itself attracts a new corporate finance industry to Bermuda's shores,'' he said.

"When a company is seeking to expand its shareholder base with sophisticated investors overseas, we can be regarded as a viable alternative to the same company relying on its traditional investment bank, who may not move as quickly and may be kept in reserve for an initial public offering (IPO), perhaps at a later stage.'' The financing includes US, Swiss, Scandinavian and Japanese investors such as Pharma Vision 2000 AG, Martin Ebner's Swiss vehicle for pharmaceutical investments, Japan Tobacco, Lombard Odier of Zurich, SE-Banken and funds advised by New York-based bio-tech specialists Mehta and Isaly.

Pharma Vision, a fund with $3 billion in assets, has only two other investments in the health care industry, Roche Holdings Ltd. and Glaxo Wellcome Plc, BioWorld Today said.

The latest financing gives Tularik a market value of $320 million and gives it the opportunity to "aggressively'' accelerate its drug discovery and development programmes, Tularik co-founder Mr. Goeddel said. It hopes to have two drugs in the clinic by 1998.

Tularik's approach is further enhanced by a rapidly expanding DNA database, he added. The company develops therapeutics which act through the regulation of gene expression.

By discovering and understanding how a given human gene is "switching on an off'' to cause specific diseases, the company identifies specific targets for therapeutic intervention. The company hopes to produce a "small molecule'' drug -- a bottle of pills.

Tularik's six major research areas include AIDS, immune system disorders and obesity, each of which is a $1 billion-plus market. The company has strategic partnerships with Merck & Co., Sumitomo Pharmaceutical, Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical and JT Inc.

Tularik's chairman is Robert Swanson, also co-founder and chairman of Genentech Inc. The three co-founders of Tularik, Mr. Goeddel, Prof. Robert Tijian and Prof. Steven McKnight are members of the US Academy of Science and are considered top in their field.