Bothell biotech faces closure

Published 9:00 pm Friday, April 16, 2004

BOTHELL — Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., which has survived though nearly two years of money struggles, may be at the end of its rope.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bothell-based developer of potential cancer treatments revealed that it likely will cease operations after next week without some last-minute financing.

On Friday, the company’s stock on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board fell 4 cents, or 31 percent, to close at 9 cents a share. The share price hasn’t risen above $1 since mid-2002.

Alton Boynton, chief executive officer for Northwest Biotherapeutics, did not return a call for comment about the company’s condition.

Its former CEO, Daniel Wilds, said he is disappointed that the company may have to shut down. He said the clinical research that initially attracted him to the company still holds promise.

"I believed that, in fact, it had a very leading, cutting-edge position in immune therapies for the treatment of cancer," said Wilds, who was CEO until February, when he resigned to focus on his new job at SCOLR Inc. in Bellevue.

Launched in 1996, Northwest Biotherapeutics has been developing products based on antibodies and dendritic cells — rare white blood cells that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells. The company also was researching potential gene therapies against certain cancers.

While it has no drugs on the market, the firm’s leading candidate, a dendritic-based treatment against prostate cancer, was in phase 3 clinical trials when money woes forced the suspension of further tests. Several other possible cancer drugs were in earlier clinical trials.

Northwest Biotherapeutics first warned investors about its financial condition in July 2002, only eight months after it went public with an initial offering of stock. In that stock offering of 4 million shares, the company raised $20 million, but that was just half the amount it had hoped to raise.

A ray of hope came in late 2002 when the company raised several million dollars by selling development rights for several of its treatments. But the firm wasn’t able to find a buyer or suitable merger partner for its long-term survival.

During the past two years, a majority of employees have been laid off, and the company has moved into smaller quarters in Bothell’s Canyon Park area. As of February, eight employees remained.

In this week’s SEC filing, Boynton reported that he is talking to potential outside investors, but there’s no guarantee that a deal will be made.

Wilds, who still owns stock in Northwest Biotherapeutics, said he hopes its clinical technology can be advanced by another biotech firm even if the company doesn’t survive.

"You always hope someone will pick up the flag and move forward with it," he said.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.