Northfield Labs - The 2009 Biotech Graveyard

Company: Northfield Labs
Based: Evanston, IL

What went wrong: The 24-year-old Northfield Labs spent decades trying to develop a blood substitute Polyheme. But after burning through $220 million trying to gain approval for the product, Northfield Laboratories filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidated its assets in June, after the FDA decision rejected Polyheme for safety reasons.