DBJ: DelSite’s finances may kill breakthrough

Monday, April 06, 2009

Dallas Business Journal

The Irving-based drug development company DelSite Inc. has closed manufacturing facilities in Irving and Costa Rica and posted millions in losses even as it tries to usher a potential bird flu vaccine through the expensive clinical trial process.

At the same time, the company once known as Carrington Laboratories Inc. is competing in an ever-harsher economic landscape for pharmaceutical companies. In this environment, it is trying to secure funding in hopes of conducting a Phase I clinical study for its GelVac-branded nasal powder bird flu vaccine.

....If DelSite was to gain FDA approval for its nasal powder bird flu vaccine, it would be the first such product on the market, the company says. The vaccine's format would allow for improved storage and delivery and fewer vaccine losses. Also, needles would not be needed in administering it, the company said.

The powdered delivery system it is trying to develop, which does not need to be refrigerated, would be of particular interest for vaccines designed to combat diseases where drug storage is an issue, such as in Third World countries, said Hubert Zajicek. He is director of the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology, a nonprofit that assists entrepreneurs with starting and growing medical technology ventures.

But, in general, the funding climate for early stage biotechnology companies is pretty rough right now. We see a lot of good companies with great ideas having difficulties in fundraising, he said.

....Biotech companies have hit a 10-year low point in financing and support, said Matthew Hudes, the U.S. managing principal for the biotechnology industry at Deloitte.

Full length Dallas Business Journal article