The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a trade body based in Washington DC, is asking members of the US Congress to consider giving financial aid to small technology companies struggling in the present financial crisis.

Small biotech firms, many of which are not profitable, have been hard hit by the downturn. BIO says that nearly a third of the 370 publicly traded US biotech companies have less than six months of cash left.

Now BIO is proposing a temporary US tax reform that would allow the firms to cash in early on a tax break normally allotted to them when they become profitable. The proposal would also apply to other investor-backed small companies, such as those developing alternative-energy technologies.