EXHIBIT 4.5

               AMENDMENT TO VISKASE COMPANIES, INC.
                PARALLEL NONQUALIFIED SAVINGS PLAN


     The Viskase Companies, Inc. Parallel Nonqualified Savings Plan (the
"Plan") was originally established by Viskase Companies, Inc. (the
"Company"), under its prior name of Envirodyne Industries, Inc.,
effective January 1, 1987.  The Plan permits certain key executives of
the Company to elect to defer a portion of their compensation, and to
receive additional employer contributions, in excess of the amounts
permitted under the Company's tax qualified retirement plan.

     Each executive who participates in the Plan has an Employee
Contribution Account and a Supplemental Benefit Account, to which
amounts of deferred compensation and additional employer contributions,
respectively, are credited.  Under the current terms of the Plan, each
such account is credited with earnings at the rates specified under the
Plan.

     Pursuant to a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors of the
Company and approved by the stockholders at the annual meeting held July
29, 1999, participants in the Plan shall be permitted to have the return
on a portion of their Plan accounts determined as if such portion had
been invested in the Common Stock of the Company, in lieu of being
credited with earnings at the rate provided in the Plan.  In addition,
the resolution authorized the creation of the Viskase Stock Fund, in the
form of a grantor trust of the type commonly known as a "rabbi trust",
to which the Company will issue up to 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock,
which will be used to measure the return on the portion of accounts
deemed to be invested in Common Stock, and as a source of distributions
to participants upon their termination of employment.

     In order to reflect the foregoing, and in accordance with the
authority reserved by the Board of Directors pursuant to Section 5.01 of
the Plan, the Plan is hereby amended as follows:

     1.     Article I of the Plan is amended by inserting the following
definition immediately following the definition of "Plan Year":

          "STOCK FUND means the Viskase Stock Fund established
          pursuant to Section 5.05A."

     2.     Section 3.03 is amended by the addition of a new subsection
(c) to read as follows:

          "(c)     In lieu of the provisions of subsections
          (a) and (b),  a Participant may elect, subject to the
          limitations set forth below, to have all or a portion
          of his Supplemental Benefit Account or his Employee
          Contribution Account, or both, adjusted to reflect the
          earnings, gains, and losses that would have been credited
          or debited thereto had such portion been invested in
          the Stock Fund.  If a Participant so elects, a separate
          subaccount of his Supplemental Benefit Account or
          Employee Contribution Account, or both, shall be
          established, which shall be credited with the portion
          of the Participant's accounts specified by the Participant,
          and shall thereafter be credited with the percentage
          elected by the Participant of all new contributions
          pursuant to Section 3.02.  Amounts credited to such
          subaccount shall be treated as invested in Common Stock
          of the Company at the fair market value of such Common
          Stock on the date credited to the subaccount, and
          thereafter shall be adjusted as if actually invested in
          such number of shares of Common Stock.  Participants
          may also be permitted to transfer amounts into and out of
          such subaccounts from time to time.  The Committee shall
          establish rules, procedures and limitations governing the
          treatment of the portion of Participants' accounts deemed
          to be invested in the Stock Fund, which may limit or restrict
          the ability of Participants to change elections and to
          transfer amounts into and out of the Stock Fund; provided,
          however, that in no event shall the aggregate portion of all
          Participants' accounts deemed to be invested in the Stock Fund
          exceed the amount of Common Stock actually authorized for
          issuance the Stock Fund pursuant to Section 5.05A (and any
          excess amount, allocated among all Participants in the
          manner prescribed by the Committee, shall be subject to
          subsections (a) and (b)); and provided further, that in no
          event shall any Participant's election be applied
          retroactively to effect the adjustment of his account prior to
          the date that such election is received by the Company."

     3.     A new Section 3.07 is added following Section  3.06, to read
as follows:

         "3.07      DISTRIBUTIONS OF STOCK

          To the extent that a portion of the Participant's
          Supplemental Benefit Account or Employee Contribution
          Account, or both, is allocated to a subaccount treated
          as invested in the Stock Fund pursuant to Section 3.03(c)
          at the time a distribution is to be made pursuant to either
          Section 3.05 or 3.06, there shall be distributed to such
          Participant or his Beneficiary, unless the Committee
          otherwise determines, a number of shares of Common Stock
          equal to the number of whole shares deemed to be held in
          such subaccount or subaccounts, and cash equal to any
          fractional shares."

4.     A new Section 5.05A is added following Section  5.05, to read as
follows:

          "5.05A      STOCK FUND

               The Company, as grantor, shall establish a grantor trust
          of the type commonly known as a "rabbi trust", which shall be
          known as the Viskase Stock Fund (the "Stock Fund").  The
          Company shall appoint a trustee of the Stock Fund, and shall
          have the authority to remove and replace the trustee from time
          to time, and to enter into a trust agreement with such trustee
          and amend such agreement from time to time, all on such terms
          as the Committee shall determine.  The Company shall transfer
          shares of Common Stock to the Stock Fund at such time as
          Participants elect to have a portion of their accounts
          adjusted as if they were invested in the Stock Fund pursuant
          to Section 3.03(c).  All dividends paid on stock held in the
          Stock Fund shall be reinvested in Common Stock.  If at any
          time a distribution of Common Stock is to be made to a
          Participant or his Beneficiary pursuant to Section 3.07, such
          Common Stock may be distributed out of the Stock Fund, which
          shall satisfy the Company's obligation pursuant to Section
          3.07 to the extent of such distribution.  In the event the
          Company elects to distribute shares of Common Stock directly
          to such Participant or Beneficiary, or to distribute cash in
          lieu of shares of Common Stock (other than in lieu of
          fractional shares), the same number of shares shall be
          returned from the Stock Fund to the Company.  In no event
          shall the Company be obligated to transfer more than 1,000,000
          shares (adjusted appropriately by the Committee in the event
          of any recapitalization, stock split, stock dividend, or
          similar transaction) to the Stock Fund, reduced by any shares
          returned as described in the preceding sentence.  Anything
          else contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the
          Stock Fund shall be subject to the provisions of Section 5.05.

               The Company shall be the owner of the shares of Common
          Stock held in the Stock Fund (which shall be subject to the
          claims of the Company's creditors), and any voting rights
          shall be exercised by the trustee, subject to the direction of
          the Company to the extent provided by the trust agreement.
          The failure of the Company to establish the Stock Fund or to
          transfer shares of Common Stock to it shall not affect the
          obligations of the Company under this Plan, and, in the
          absence of the Stock Fund, the accounts of Participants who
          elect to have their accounts adjusted as provided under
          Section3.03(c) shall be adjusted as if the Stock Fund had been
          established, as determined by the Committee on an equitable
          basis."

5.     The provisions of this amendment are effective July 29, 1999.
Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, all provisions of the
Plan shall remain in full force and effect.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Amendment to be executed
as of July 29, 1999.

VISKASE COMPANIES, INC.

By: ________________________