The Seattle Biotech Survival Index: Companies Bounce Back in Mid-2009
Luke Timmerman9/22/09Follow @ldtimmerman
Seattle’s biotechnology industry is in significantly better financial shape than it was six months ago. The turnaround has been nothing short of amazing, thanks to a frantic run of dealmaking, cost-cutting, and remarkable clinical trial results that have made local companies some of the best-performing stocks this year on the NASDAQ.
Indeed, while our first analysis of the Northwest’s public life sciences companies, published last November, showed that six of 10 companies had less than a year’s worth of cash on hand at that point, only one—Seattle-based Northstar Neuroscience—actually folded.
And when we took a look at the most recent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the 12 companies we’re following right now (11 of them public, one preparing for its IPO), we found that seven of them were actually in a stronger position at the end of June than they were at the start of the year. What’s more, three of the companies that were classified by this analysis as worse off (Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals and Targeted Genetics and Bothell, WA-based OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals) have recently struck partnerships or completed financings that aren’t yet reflected in the federal filings, but have clearly improved their financial futures.
Read on for a complete rundown of all 12 companies, listed in alphabetical order. To purchase a much expanded version of this report, in PDF format, click the “Add to Cart” button below. The expanded version, available for $95,* includes an assessment of each company’s financial position at the end of June compared to six months earlier, the projected length of time it can survive on its existing cash reserves, and an analysis of the strategic moves it has made to stay afloat in the current environment. Click here to see a sample entry. *Price is subject to change without notice.
We intend to repeat this analysis regularly to monitor the financial health of the life sciences companies we follow in San Diego, Seattle, and Boston. Please send feedback to editors@xconomy.com.
AVI Biopharma (NASDAQ: AVII)
Cash on hand: $20.2 million
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Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC)
Cash on hand: $12 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
“Cell Therapeutics Teeters on the Brink as Cash Runs Out on Promising Cancer Drugs”
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Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN)
Cash on hand: $287.5 million
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MDRNA (NASDAQ: MRNA)
Cash on hand: $9.4 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
“MDRNA Cuts Executive Pay, Freezes Salaries as Cash Runs Out”
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Omeros (NASDAQ: OMER)
Cash on hand: $10.4 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
“Omeros Plans to Test Waters with First Washington IPO in Two Years, Sources Say”
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OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OGXI)
Cash on hand: $5.7 million
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Oncothyreon (NASDAQ: ONTY)
Cash on hand: $22.7 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
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Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN)
Cash on hand: $189.9 million
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SonoSite (NASDAQ: SONO)
Cash on hand: $262.9 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
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Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: TGEN)
Cash on hand: $2.5 million
Related Xconomy coverage:
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Trubion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TRBN)
Cash on hand: $37.4 million
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“Trubion Gets $20M Upfront in Leukemia Drug Partnership With Facet; Shares Boom”
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ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: ZGEN)
Cash on hand: $118.2 million
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“ZymoGenetics Unloads Drug Candidates to Cut Costs, Spin Off New Company“
