As noted in a post last week, biotech IPOs are MIA, and venture funding is shaky. The latest quarterly numbers for biopharmaceutical firms -- a tick over $1 billion for the second quarter, according to Dow Jones VentureSource -- is better than the dismal first quarter. But if you carry the first-half total over the full year, the $3.6 billion would be the lowest since 2003, a pretty lousy year in IPOs.
Continue reading below
In the ebb tide, who's left high and dry? The Scientist notes
Wednesday on its blog (free
registration required) that embryonic stem-cell research might
take a hit. Last week 14-year-old Advanced Cell Technology Inc. of Los
Angeles ran out of money, as it revealed in
its latest 10-Q.
It's worth noting that ACT's trouble extends beyond its chosen field of
science: It's been forced to restate nearly two years of financials. Still,
one could argue there's been a stem-cell bubble, or at least a lot of hype
in the wake of California's $3 billion public fund, passed in 2004, and
other recent efforts to skirt the Bush administration clampdown on the
field. And current turbulent markets, added to the twists and turns in the
science -- including the possibility of reprogramming "adult" stem cells to
revert back to a pluripotent, embryonic-like form -- could divert VC funds
to stem-cell firms closer to commercial potential. Or, more likely, keep
risk-averse VCs sitting on their hands that much longer.
- Alex Lash
