Biotechnology giant falters

CompuMedix files for bankruptcy

LOS ANGELES (RWN) - Medical technology company CompuMedix filed for bankruptcy protection today after posting another year of losses.

The company, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court, has lost money in seven of the last 10 years. The reasons listed, according to the company, include excessive costs to hire researchers, high research costs and lackluster sales of the company's three main drugs - Platex, Cambrio and Shallatin.

"Not a good day for our company obviously," said George Corwin, CompuMedix's president. "We really could have used some help from the government here, but they didn't provide it."

High salary costs for leading researchers isn't unique to CompuMedix. Most of the leading drug companies in the country have imported researchers from China and India, where the universities produce students on the cutting edge.

CompuMedix's problems really began with Platex, a nanotechnology-based drug that was designed to be ingested and monitor and regulate blood flow in patients with circulation problems. Despite extensive testing, patients with Platex often suffered from serious complications - including seven people who died from taking the drug. Platex was pulled off the market in 2027 and the company is still involved in litigation with users.

CompuMedix next ran into problems in 2029 with its Cambrio drug, a blend of genetic enhancers designed to improve performance and healing. The drug was designed for the Fedayeen, and it was this contract with the Fedayeen helped build CompuMedix; a less potent consumer version was set to launch in 2029 and the company was staking part of its future on it.

Then the Black Robe movement and several other conservative groups opposed it on scriptural grounds, claiming it violated the spirit of the Qur'an. The company caved to strong pressure from the conservative groups and pulled the drug before it hit the market, losing $550 million in research and market-development costs.

Two months later, Timothy Tanner, the company's president, committed suicide. A months after that, CompuMedix's newest drug, a platelet generator, was taken off the market due to safety concerns.

The company's stock plummeted from $81 a share to less than $20 a share.

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