Unable to raise funding, a number of biotechnology companies could soon go out of business. Five US biotech firms have filed for bankruptcy in the last month alone. Burrill & Co. report that in the first nine months of 2008, the amount of money raised by biotech companies fell 54% to $9.7 billion. Financing for US biotech companies dropped 54% to $8.2 billion in the first nine months, while funding from venture capital declined 16% to $2.9 billion. So far this year, only one biotech company has gone public, compared to 28 IPOs in 2007. David Strupp of investment bank Canaccord Adams states that the industry could experience an unprecedented number of bankruptcies and dissolutions over the next six to nine months. The most vulnerable companies are those that have yet to gain approval for a product and must finance clinical trials, but do not have access to equity markets. According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, 25% of the 370 publicly listed biotech companies in the US have less than six months of cash available.

Source: Bloomberg.com