MicroIslet - The 2009 Biotech Graveyard

Company: MicroIslet
Based: San Diego, CA

What went wrong: MicroIslet spent $50 million over a decade to develop therapies for Type 1 diabetes. It's lead drug was MicroIslet-P, a therapy that involved transplanting pig pancreas cells into diabetics' stomachs in order to replace insulin injections. MicroIslet-P was tested in animals but never made it into the clinic, as the company filed for bankruptcy in November of 2008 after it was unable to raise funding for the project.