Trouble for deCODE

Iceland biotech linkurl:deCODE Genetics;http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/4/1/20/1/ is taking a hit from the global financial downswing. The company's stock price has plunged 54% since September to $0.45 a share. According to NASDAQ's s regulations, companies must keep their share prices over $1. DeCODE dipped below $1 on September 10, and has 180 days to bounce back to maintain a NASDAQ listing. (The company's net worth, $27.88 million, puts it above the $5 million -- not $50 million, as lin

Written byAndrea Gawrylewski
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
Iceland biotech linkurl:deCODE Genetics;http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/4/1/20/1/ is taking a hit from the global financial downswing. The company's stock price has plunged 54% since September to $0.45 a share. According to NASDAQ's s regulations, companies must keep their share prices over $1. DeCODE dipped below $1 on September 10, and has 180 days to bounce back to maintain a NASDAQ listing. (The company's net worth, $27.88 million, puts it above the $5 million -- not $50 million, as linkurl:Nature reported;http://www.nature.com/news/2008/081014/full/455842a.html?s=news_rss -- required to keep its listing.) "We have been seriously influenced by the American banking crisis and not the Icelandic," Kari Stefansson, founder and CEO of the company told Nature. "But we will survive. We are working on refinancing and restructuring the company. And we are fairly optimistic today that we will succeed." The Iceland economy has been in free-fall for nearly a month, with the government seizing banks and the stock market shut down. Iceland is now turning to Russia for emergency loans. In the last month, deCODE scientists linkurl:identified;http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v455/n7210/full/nature07229.html three new schizophrenia-associated mutations, filed an FDA new drug application for Alzheimers, and linkurl:reported;http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18849993?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum on genetic variants at risk for basel-cell carcinoma, the journal reported. Last week the company launched a controversial personal breast cancer screening test, called deCODE BreastCancer, that was met with some skepticism. The simple blood test is meant to assess whether a woman has a potential risk for common forms of breast cancer. "There is at least a significant chance this test will could falsely reassure some women and alarm others," Eric Winer, oncologist at Harvard University, told the linkurl:Washington Post.;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100702682.html
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Image of small blue creatures called Nergals. Some have hearts above their heads, which signify friendship. There is one Nergal who is sneezing and losing health, which is denoted by minus one signs floating around it.
June 2025, Issue 1

Nergal Networks: Where Friendship Meets Infection

A citizen science game explores how social choices and networks can influence how an illness moves through a population.

View this Issue
Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

cytiva logo
An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

cytiva logo
Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

cytiva logo

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series

agilent-logo

Agilent Announces the Enhanced 8850 Gas Chromatograph

parse-biosciences-logo

Pioneering Cancer Plasticity Atlas will help Predict Response to Cancer Therapies