Nanogen Gets $2.5M from NIH to Develop
Prototype Diagnostic for Sepsis, Pneumonia
Nanogen has received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a prototype diagnostic for sepsis and community-acquired pneumonia, the company said this week.
Under the five-year grant, Nanogen will collaborate with the Medical College of Wisconsin to provide an automated diagnostic system to rapidly detect bacteria and viruses that cause sepsis and pneumonia.
Mortality from sepsis ranges from 28 percent to 50 percent, according to the company, and pneumonia is the seventh-leading cause of death in the US.
BG Medicine to Find Biomarkers, Study Drug
Effects in Deal with Boehringer Ingelheim
Using its systems pharmacology platform, BG Medicine will examine the effects of drugs in tissue and discover plasma biomarkers for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the companies said last week in a statement.
The companies declined to disclose financial details.
Illumina's Q2 Revenues Increase
38 Percent, Losses Grow 53 Percent
Illumina last week reported increased revenues and losses for the second quarter of 2005.
Revenues totaled $15.8 million for the quarter, a 38-percent increase over last year's $11.5 million for the same period.
The company's research and development expenses climbed to $7.3 million, up from $5.3 million during the year-ago period.
Illumina's net loss amounted to $18.5 million, or $.46 per share, up from $3.5 million, or $.10 per share, during last year's second quarter. This included a $15.8 million write-off of in-process research and development that Illlumina acquired with CyVera in April.
As of July 3, Illumina had $54.6 million in cash and investments.
Third Wave's Q2 Revenues Slide 54 Percent, Dx Receipts Grow
Third Wave Technologies last week reported a sharp drop in total revenues along with a widening loss for the second quarter of 2005.
The company's revenues for the quarter were $5.8 million, down 54 percent from $12.6 million during the second quarter of 2004. Of that, $4.3 million came from clinical molecular diagnostics and $1.3 million from research revenues, compared to $3.4 million and $9.1 million, respectively, during last year's second quarter.
"While the long-anticipated decline in research revenue may cloud the company's top-line story in the short term, our second-quarter results show that the investments we have made and will continue to make in molecular diagnostic product development and distribution are beginning to pay off," said John Puisis, Third Wave's president and CEO, in a statement.
Research and development costs declined to $2 million, down from $3 million during last year's second quarter.
Third Wave's net loss for the quarter totaled $5.5 million, or $.13 per share, up from $106,000, or $0 per share, for the year-ago period.
As of June 30, Third Wave had $61.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.
Decode's Q2 Revenue Climbs 19 Percent, Loss Remains Flat
Decode Genetics this week reported increased revenues and a flat net loss for the second quarter of 2005.
Revenues for the quarter were $11.4 million, up 19 percent over last year's revenues of $9.6 million during the same period.
Research and development costs more than doubled, to $11 million from $5.4 million during the year-ago period. This increase was due to costs of clinical trials, according to the company.
Decode's net loss for the quarter remained flat at $13.3 million, or $.25 per share.
As of June 30, Decode had $185.3 million in cash and short-term investments, including restricted cash.
Nanogen's Q2 Revenues Almost Triple, Loss Narrows
Nanogen this week reported a jump in revenues and narrowed losses for the second quarter of 2005.
The company's revenues for the quarter almost tripled, to $3.1 million from $1.1 million during the same period last year. Product revenues were $1.1 million of the total, up from $500,000 during the year-ago period. "We have built a good foundation on which new products and further acquisitions can be added. We are eagerly anticipating the shipment of new products later this fiscal year that will help us grow our revenue base and set the stage for significant growth during 2006," said CEO Howard Birndorf in a statement.
Research and development costs increased to $5.2 million from $4 million during last year's second quarter.
The company reported a net loss of $9.7 million, or $.20 per share, for the quarter, down from $12.9 million, or $.39 per share, for the same period in 2004.
As of June 30, Nanogen had $18.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $13.1 million in short-term investments.
German Microarray Reagent Provider Implen Opens Swiss Office
Implen has opened an office in Switzerland, the Munich-based provider of microarray reagents said last month.
The office is located in Zumikon, near Zurich. Implen sells a wide range of microarray-related reagents for labeling, hybridization, and post-hybridization treatment.
Implen is also a distributor for Advalytix, based in Brunnthal, Germany, and for Hatfield, Penn.-based Genisphere in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
JGI Purchases $500K Sequencing System from 454
The US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute has purchased a $500,000 genome sequencing system from 454 Life Sciences, an institute official said this week.
454, a subsidiary of CuraGen, has developed a system that accelerates sequencing processes through the use of microfluidics and other methods of miniaturizing current technology. Previously, the Brandford, Conn.-based company offered the system as a service.
In March, GenomeWeb News reported that 454 had installed the first system at Harvard University's and MIT's Broad Institute.
454 recently described its sequencing technology in a paper in the July 31 online issue of Nature. In the paper, researchers from the company used the system to re-sequence 580,069 bases of the genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium in one four-hour run with up to 99.99 percent accuracy a 100-fold increase in throughput over current sequencing technology, according to the company.