That's a great risk. Mr. Groome of National Bank Financial reckons Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Vancouver has done a good job of signing up major licensing partners. A biotech company should have enough cash to keep it going for at least two years. Biotechs consume cash like pigs eat truffles, especially as they move into expensive large-scale clinical trials, and a shortage of the folding stuff can hamstring their research or force them to give away their technology for less than it's worth. Be wary if the technology is absolutely radical.
Scientific breakthroughs are rare.
Such ground breaking may work out in the long term, he says, but the payoff is probably years off. Beware of companies that produce a torrent of press releases. Sometimes they seem to be building up stories to get the financing.