Feeding the Machine: Exelixis Buys X-Ceptor
Executive Summary
Exelixis' needs to address its increasing burn rate--expected to hit 90 million this year. With a stock mired around $8, any significant equity financing would be dilutive. Partnering was the obvious answer--except that Exelixis didn't have much to partner. By acquiring X-Ceptor Therapeutics it gets a set of much-needed near-term partnering opportunities, and it did so without significantly increasing its projected burn.
You may also be interested in...
No Dilution Necessary: The Promise of Project Financing
Project financing, claim its proponents-in particular Symphony Capital-offers an alternative to highly dilutive equity offerings, preserving the upside from the development of a successful product for the biotech. That's true, though this expensive capital isn't for everyone. Yet as Big Pharma's productivity challenge deepens, project financing is helping to swing the balance of power further towards small companies.
No Dilution Necessary: The Promise of Project Financing
Project financing, claim its proponents-in particular Symphony Capital-offers an alternative to highly dilutive equity offerings, preserving the upside from the development of a successful product for the biotech. That's true, though this expensive capital isn't for everyone. Yet as Big Pharma's productivity challenge deepens, project financing is helping to swing the balance of power further towards small companies.
Cytokinetics Stays the Course
Cytokinetics claims to have implemented a far more detailed long-term strategic plan than most biotechs. That plan will be put to the test as it enters the clinic with an acute CHF compound. Until now, the company has relied on a partner (GSK) to shoulder the burden of developing its drug candidates. Now it will have to do that heavy lifting, at least for a while, on its own.