1 Chris Cashman, president and CEO of Protez Pharmaceuticals, a Malvern, Pennsylvania, maker of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistance, recalls the 2001 to 2002 "washout period," when the market for biotech and many small-capital companies fell apart. "Raising money was very difficult. Lots of companies failed," he says. For Cashman and other biotech entrepreneurs, the recovery began with Pennsylvania's move in 2001 to use its tobacco settlement funds to create capital for life scie

Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground By Clare Kittredge Early-stage funding is oxygen to young life science companies struggling to keep their companies afloat and research moving forward. RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies Margaret Foti: Devoted to cancer research The Launch and the Exit Mark Tykocinski: Open doors lead a scientist to his calling Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th

Creative Collaboration By Clare Kittredge Teaming up to move science forward. RELATED ARTICLES Successful Strategies Margaret Foti: Devoted to cancer research The Launch and the Exit Entrepreneurs Boldly Break New Ground Mark Tykocinski: Open doors lead a scientist to his calling Shire Pharmaceuticals: A Study in Exponential Growth Many Happy Returns: Cephalon celebrates its 20th year THE CHOP - WISTAR INSTITUTE - MERCK PARTNERSHIP In 1

French scientists begin safety testing of vaccine to quell ever-growing outbreak of the mosquito virus

A survey of 1,054 life scientists uncovered a marked affinity for recommending brand names to colleagues rather than competing brands with less market cachet. The study - "Maximizing Market Share Through Brand Differentiation" - focused on differentiating reagents, instruments, and lab supplies by quality, service, or price. Santa Clara, Calif.-based gene chipmaker Affymetrix took top honors as most differentiated brand. New England Biolabs, an Ipswich, Mass.-based maker of

FDA Seeks 'Little' Information

Some researchers focus on promising vaccine to stem largest recorded outbreak of chikungunya

With a PhD in chemistry and "a general passion" for the work, J. David Rozzell started making enzymes for drug companies seven years ago with a handful of employees in his Pasadena lab.

The new CEO of a small private biotechnology company had failed to keep the board up-to-date on what was going on inside the company.

European biotech companies are more likely than their American counterparts to fail at the 3- to 5-year stage, according to a UK-based think tank.

The tally is grim: three high-profile cancer cases, including one death, in French boys who underwent pioneering gene therapy for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID).

Biotech revenues soared 845% in Europe and 193% in Canada between 1998 and 2002, according to a 2004 report from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).