ixs
today,s Phoenix buisness journal.
Jeff Morhet, chairman and CEO of InNexus Biotechnology Inc., has been a strong proponent of collaborations. He created ThirdBiotech Research Group to help fledgling biotechs find lab space at reduced costs.
“We’ve got to rely on these collaborations,” he said. “2009 will be a Darwinian year. As most people understand Darwinism, it’s not the strongest that survive, it’s the most adaptable.”
Morhet said weaker biotech companies will die out this year.
“It will probably weed out some of the good companies during this process,” he said. “It’s also the reason why we need to collaborate and partner and merge — not just companies, but sometimes our ideas.”
InNexus raised more than $25 million in 2008 and signed its second deal with New York-based Royalty Pharma, giving the drug development company a $17.5 million commitment to finance its cancer drugs. Also last year, the company announced it was commencing development of a drug for colorectal cancer.
“This comes back to the heart of good biotechs and good technology companies as a whole,” said Morhet. “You have got to be able to create assets that are valuable to the shareholder.”