Even the industry's lobbying group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, says that 45 percent of publicly traded biotech companies will run out of cash in the next 6 to 12 months. A mere 10 percent of the 370 listed companies have a positive cash flow.

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Much of the activity at the J.P. Morgan conference involved companies and investors that still have money shopping for deals. "We are being visited by a number of companies," said Jay Flatley, CEO of the genomic sequencing company Illumina, based in San Diego.

Illumina recently announced an $18 million development deal with Oxford Nanopore of Britain for its next-generation genetic sequencing technology. Illumina has remained profitable with a healthier-than-average stock price even during the downturn.

Labels: Biotech