Helicos Not for Sale
Helicos’s system is currently priced at a $1 million, nearly double the price of some other next-generation sequencing systems. During the month, Helicos also filed a shelf registration statement for a future share offering to raise $50 million.
Cambridge, MA 11/9/09—Two months after hiring Thomas Weisel Partners to explore strategic alternatives for the company, including a sale (see IBO 9/15/09), Helicos BioSciences has announced that it is no longer pursuing such discussions due to improving prospects and market valuation. However, the company continues to work with Thomas Weisel on a long-term financing strategy. “We have had very positive feedback from our initial customers. In addition, we are seeing a growing number of novel discoveries resulting from the Helicos Genetic Analysis System’s unique capabilities and have seen an increased interest in clinical applications for which the Helicos system is uniquely suited,” commented Helicos CEO Ron Lowy. The company also announced that it plans to reduce the cost of the system in coming months as component costs decline, and to introduce reagent kits for a smaller number of samples and faster run time. (For Helicos’s third-quarter results, see page 12.)
