In April, LXR Biotechnology (Richmond, CA) suffered another blow when the third of four preclinical trials of its lead antiapoptotic drug, Elirex, failed to show efficacy in reducing heart attack damage. LXR's stock price dropped 75% to $0.25 on the news, forcing the company—now without cash and operating in the red—to offer itself for sale. Although LXR's difficulties raise questions about both the business and science of apoptosis, the company's demise does not bode ill for others in the field.
Since its inception in late 1992, LXR raised about $40 million but now has a market capitalization of about $7.5 million. Seed money initially came from David Blech & Co, but his liquidation in 1994 ( Nature Biotechnology 15, 23, 1997) left the company without major investors for a few years, and it never managed to regain its footing. LXR's stock price, which started at $4.50, decreased over the years because of lack of clinical progress and, last October, staff was cut from 60 to 30 to "suspend pure research and reduce the burn rate." Although Grace Bros. Ltd. (Chicago, IL) bought $1 million of common stock in March, it wasn't enough to get LXR back on its feet, and class-action lawsuits connected to the Blech financial collapse cost it $500,000 to settle in January.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution