Ontogeny: Back door entrance

At a time when investors cannot get enough of biotech IPOs, Ontogeny Inc. accessed the public markets via a merger instead, opting to tie its fortunes to those of publicly traded Creative BioMolecules Inc. and privately held Reprogenesis Inc. The new company, Curis Inc., will couple Ontogeny's preclinical pipeline and discovery engine with the others' near-term product opportunities and development and regulatory know-how to create a regenerative medicine company that Ontogeny believes will have value after Wall Street's ardor for biotech wanes.

An IPO probably would have provided Ontogeny with a better monetary infusion in the short term, said President and CEO Doros Platika, who will hold those jobs at Curis. But to create a sustainable company with near- and mid-term product opportunities as well as a discovery engine, "you do this. This has value regardless of market fashion. It is a leapfrog two-to-three years into the future."...