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Biotech Survival Index: Boston Life Sciences Companies Brace for Long, Hard Winter

—Altus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALTU). This Waltham, MA-based drug developer expects to use $80 million to $90 million in cash for operations in 2008. It had $70.3 million on hand at the end of September.

—Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN). The Lexington, MA-based company had $40.9 million in cash at the end of September, and a net loss of $11.1 million in the quarter. It has clearance to market its first product, a kidney cancer treatment, in Russia, but it took months longer than expected to get an export license it needed before it could start selling.

—Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA). This Cambridge, MA-based cancer drug developer burned through $36 million in cash and investments in the first nine months of the year. It had $52.7 million left at the end of September.

—AMAG Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMAG). This Lexington, MA-based drug developer had stashed away $241 million in cash and investments at the end of September, while racking up a $23.6 million net loss. It is trying to satisfy the FDA’s questions about its application to market a drug for iron deficiency.

—ArQule (NASDAQ: ARQL). This Woburn, MA-based cancer drug developer had $136 million in cash at the end of September, which doesn’t count $75 million more in upfront payments it got from two partnership deals with Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo. Its net loss was $11.1 million in the third quarter.

—Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB). This Cambridge, MA-based company said it had $1.23 billion in cash and investments at the end of September, and another $717 million in what it called “marketable securities.” Even if they’re not really that marketable anymore, Biogen turned a $207 million profit in the third quarter, so cash burn is not a concern. …Next Page »

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.

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