A new survey of the state of Canada's biotech industry by Peter Brenders paints a bleak picture. Venture capital is drying up, companies are shuttering programs and a long lineup of developers are scheduled to run out of cash later this year. Here are the highlights:
- New money raised by Canadian biotech companies plunged 41 percent last year compared to 2007.
- One out of every four biotech companies don't have enough cash on hand to survive more than six months. Half have less than one year's supply of operating capital.
- Last fall 13 Canadian biotechs closed their doors and dozens more scaled back their work in an effort to save money.
- The financially strapped Canadian government is cutting back on the amount of money it provides to researchers.
"These are scary times for a lot of the research companies because they need to raise money from the capital markets to pay for the research. But in this financial climate, there are no investors," said Brenders. "We are seeing companies cutting back their research, we see companies shrinking, we see companies moving to other countries where they can raise money. Private-sector research is an important part of the economy but it is at risk right now."
- read the report from the Ottawa Citizen