Avalon Pharmaceuticals – Fierce 15: Where are they now?
Avalon Pharmaceuticals Germantown, MD Founded: 1999 What we said: With a well-respected team of biologists on board, we predicted Avalon would be one of the few companies to survive the high-throughput screening field. Under the leadership of Human Genome Sciences’ alum Kenneth Carter, Avalon was well on its way to building a strong portfolio of cancer drug compounds to complement its technology platform. What happened: With several early-stage programs in its pipeline, Avalon Pharma went public in 2005, selling 27 million shares at $10.50 each. Things were going well for the developer, when in 2007 the company landed a $200 million dollar deal with Merck to identify cancer drug compounds. But like many biotechs, Avalon found itself struggling to raise cash over the last couple of years. Last August, unable to garner funds or a buyer, the developer cut its staff down by about a third to 35 employees and halted development of one of its cancer therapies. Avalon eventually obtained much-
