High-flying Advanced Cell Technology crashes

One of the highest profile stem cell developers in the U.S. may be close to shutting down. The Boston Globe is reporting that in new SEC documents Advanced Cell Technology has said that it can't continue to operate past July 31 without new funding or a restructuring to reduce expenses. ACT has $17 million in liabilities and $1 million in cash. And its stock, worth $8 a share three years ago, is now trading at 2.5 cents a share.

The Globe notes that ACT was repeatedly singled out by analysts as well as experts in the field for touting its work in stem cell therapies and cloning. They achieved some big headlines along the way, but their high-wire act also scared away investors that flock around promising young biotech companies.

"They may have had some useful technologies, but people in the biotech community have learned not to make wild claims," Una Ryan, former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, told the Globe. "People want to know you are not just full of fluff and that you are going to deliver."

- reaad the story in the Boston Globe

ALSO: William Rauch, the mayor of Beaufort, S.C., has agreed to pay $44,000 to settle SEC charges of insider trading of ACT stock. Story

Related Articles:
What's in store for stem cell treatments?
ACT unveils embryonic stem cell breakthrough
All embryos destroyed in stem cell project